In The Aftermath of War
by Sakuya Makake
Summary: This was an idea I got after reading a fellow author's work. In one moment everything changed for Ichigo, he was no longer at home, no longer with those he loved, and no longer in his own time. What will this mean for everyone's favorite Shinigami and when shadows from the past show themselves again, will anyone survive? "I bet you all thought I was dead. Season 2 coming soon!"
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Fanfiction community. This is my first time writing with this pen name and I really want things to go right this time. Please. If you ABSOLUTELY hate my writing so much that you have to curse me in the comments, at least tell me what I'm doing wrong while you're dropping the F-Bomb in my inbox.**

 **I will gladly take any requests and story ideas but i will message you back to tell you if I plan on actually following up on them.**

 **I did get this idea from another author** _ **IchiFell**_ **and I already told him I what I was doing.**

"Talking"

'thinking'

 **I hope that you like it, and without further ado, on to the story.**

 **Flashback**

Ulquiorra POV

I watched as the man who I just killed rose from the ground. His face was covered in black reishi and soon disappeared to reveal a white hollow mask with black lines crossing between two large horns, his skin had grown pale and was now decorated with even more of those black markings. The most intriguing feature was staring me right in the face, there was a large hole where his heart used to be, the same heart I destroyed with my cero. No human could have survived that.

"This can't be. You can't be alive. What is that form? Who are you?" My questions went unanswered as he extended his arm and flipped Tensa Zangetsu into his hand. With one swing of his sword the roof of Las Noches was torn apart, piling up a distance away, and the wind sent Orihime flying until the quincy caught her.

"Did you not hear me? I asked you to identify yourself." Suddenly the air grew heavy with his reiatsu and murderous intent. He threw his head back and let out an inhuman screech.

"It appears to me you can't understand what I'm saying." I raised my arm and pointed a finger at him, charging my Cero Oscuras only to see him lean forward and charge a cero of his own. I was shocked because when the two blasts met, mine was snuffed out and I was forced to retreat.

'That was undoubtedly the blast of a cero, and it was powerful enough to counter my cero oscuras. He may resemble a hollow but he can't have the powers. There's no way a human could discharge a cero' My thoughts were cut short as he suddenly appeared behind me and charged another cero between his horns.

"That's enough." I turned and fired my cero oscuras at him again and this time the blast was much larger and he disappeared from my sight in the dust.

'He diffused cero oscuras a second time' He flashed behind me and when I turned to fire a third time he grabbed my wrist and sliced my arm off. I used sonido to rocket away to solid ground, as i stood there catching my breath I realized that overpowering him was no longer an option. Just then my high-speed regeneration kicked in and my arm grew back i tested it a few times before speaking,"My greatest strength is not in my attack it's in my ability to regenerate, and I'm exchange for immense strength most arroncars lose thier ability to regenerate at ultra high speed. I alone am able to regenerate all of my body parts at high speed, except for two areas: my brain and internal organs. I don't know how you took on that form, but it won't be enough of an advantage. You saw what happened when you tore off my arm. I was able to regenerate it quite easily, defeating me will be impossible. As you're about to discover." I placed my hands together and summoned my energy."Lanza Del Relampago." I grabbed my lance and took aim at him.

"Don't move. Stay right where you are. If possible I prefer not to unleash this at close range." I pulled back and threw it as hard as i could and it flew with perfect accuracy, but then at the last instant he pulled his head out of the way. My lance flew off into the distance and created a massive explosion on the sands of Hueco Mundo. Even from miles away, everyone felt the wind from the blast as it shattered pillars around us and kicked up dust.

"I'll try again. It's always been very difficult to control." I summoned a new lance and in that moment he charged towards me. No sooner than he could touch me I opened a garganta and stepped to the side letting him in there past me. With nowhere to go I threw my lance and landed a direct hit on his chest, shattering the white hierro and mask that had grown over his skin, he flew backwards into the restrictive current and without another glance I closed the garganta trapping him inside.

 **In The Far Future**

As I sat there looking at an old monitor Aizen had set up hundreds of years ago I pondered,"I remember it all clear as day. So why is the same man I killed still alive?"

 **Thank you all for reading. It was kinda short, but chapter two will be longer. Huge credit goes to IchiFell because without him I would've never thought of the monstrosity that is about to take place, also if he weren't helping me you would all have to put up with my awful grammar. Till next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap guys...this story exploded overnight and I haven't even gotten to the juicy bits yet. I think that I underestimated just how big this community is. But thanks to all the support you guys have given me I'm ready to crank out another chapter. This is where things pick up speed.**

 **Have fun!**

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Ichigo was in agony. The restrictive current of the Dongai felt like someone had shoved Senbonzakura up his ass and said "Bankai." He felt as if the whole world around him was completely rigid and he was the only liquid thing in existence constantly being twisted and pulled in some random direction only to be shoved right back to where he was before. The awful part was that as excruciating as the pain was he was unable to pass out. He wasn't sure of how long he had been trapped inside…

 _Maybe seconds…._

 _Maybe Hours…._

 _Even Days…._

 _ **Or years….**_

Eventually his mind broke and he lost all sense of time together. He stopped thinking about how long he had been trapped and only focused on the pain.

 **At an old temple**

"Blake did you hear that?!"

Blake looked up and pointed at a red and black object falling from the sky.

"HEEEAAAADSSSS UUUUPPP!" Then suddenly Ruby collided with a random Jaune sending them both flying off into some thick trees.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

"I…." Yang was cut off as the trees suddenly started shaking violently.

"YEEEHAAAW!" Suddenly a massive ursa came staggering out of the woods with a small girl on its back until it collapsed and died."Awww. It's broken. Ewww."

Ren came running up to her out of breath,"Nora... _HUFF...HUFF..._ please. Don't ever do that again." But it was already too late, she had ran off to find something else to play with.

"Oooooo!" She stared at the golden chess piece with wide eyes and began singing,"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" while balancing the piece on random parts of her body.

"NORA!"

She was snapped out of her daydreams and held her hand up to her head in a mock salute. "Coming Ren!"

"Did that girl just come in riding on an ursa?"

"I…." Yang was cut off again by a loud screech as Pyrrha came running out of the forest with a deathstalker chasing her.

"JAUNE!"

"Pyrrha! Whoa! Ruby!" Ruby jumped down out of the tree to see her sister.

"Ruby!"

"Yang!"

"NORA!" Nora jumped out of literally nowhere right between the two siblings.

"Did she just run all the way here with a deathstalker on her tail?"

Suddenly a crack opened just behind them right as Yang doubled over unable to handle any more crazy in the situation. Right as she was about to explode a half naked man fell on top of her.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!" Yang screamed as she sent a kick at the closest thing to her, which just happened to be a the head of orange hair that fell on top of her.

Ichigo finally felt relief as he fell to the ground with a dull _THUD_. His vision came back into focus as his reflexes caught the kick flying at his face. He held down his attacker and yelled.

"I'M NOT IN THE MOOD DAD! WHO THE FUCK WAKES UP….who are you?!"

He looked down to see a beautiful, blonde woman beneath him. Then he blushed bright crimson when he saw that he was currently holding her down by her boob. He jumped back three feet and began stuttering out apologies as fast as he they all heard someone cry out.

"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!"

"I said jump."

"She's gonna fall."

"She'll be fine."

"She's falling."

Ichigo couldn't just stand by, so he slammed his foot into the ground hard enough to leave cracks and flew into the sky. He then caught Weiss while standing on the air until she screamed at him and struggled to get away.

"AHHH! WHO'RE YOU?!" The nevermore circled back around and tried to eat both of them whole. He let the reishi in his feet dissipate and they both fell, barely missing the massive beak. Weiss was clinging to him for dear life as the wind whipped around her and in one violent gust she thought they both were dead. She slowly opened her eyes and realised that the man who had caught her was now standing on the ground. So she jumped away and looked him dead in the eyes.

"JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MISTER, TRYING TO GET FRIENDLY WITH"

"Shut up." Ichigo deadpanned as he took a moment to look around. He was in a forest he'd never seen, with a bunch of people he'd never met, and now that giant scorpion monster was coming right at him. "Perfect."

He raised Tensa Zangetsu to block the tail of that beast but when he did it tried to bisect him with its right claw. The blow never came as he easily held it open with his free hand. He then swung his sword cutting off the stinger and whole arm of the monster; he was surprised however when his sword bounced off its face armor.

'Damn...I must not have any spirit energy left."

Then a spear came flying from behind him and right into one of the creature's eyes. He looked over his shoulder to see a group of people holding weapons of every shape and size: swords, scythes, spears, even a warhammer.

"Do yourself a favor and get out of here while you still can. This won't be pretty."

Yang spoke up and stepped forward, "I don't know you but this is what we were born to do," she got up in his face and poked him in the chest," Besides I still owe you a good punch to the teeth after you were gropi" Ichigo stopped listening and looked past her to see the massive bird flying right for them, and to make things worse the scorpion had gotten back up and was charging at them.

"MOVE!" He grabbed Yang by the front of her shirt and threw her behind him right into Ruby. He then brought up his sword and yelled.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

A massive wave of black energy poured from his blade cutting both monsters in half. Then his vision blacked out and he collapsed.

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 **Dun Dun Dun! What will happen now that the monsters are gone and Ichigo is out cold? You'll have to wait and see. Read and Review. Like I've told you before criticisms are encouraged, but flames are not. I finally figured out how to insert horizontal lines. I am a fucking Genius. Till next time.**

 **Hey guys, it's IchiFell here. For some reason, Sakuya was insistent on me putting my two cents in, so here it is. The beating is done by me, and for those of you who read my stories, I am sorry about the unofficial hiatus. I had just been very busy with work and my (sole) friend, so I have been unable to write. I will try soon, though, to do so. I have new plans for From a Time Long Past, and it is looking like there will be a rewrite, so sorry again.**

 **IchiFell, Out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys know the drill. This is where I dump my random crap for you guys to read before we jump into the action. I'd like to say "holy shit!" because this story has hit 1,000+ views and that is a great accomplishment for me. Last time I tried doing this I got shot down faster than a swastika over london. All jokes aside I'm glad that this is working out. This chapter is where we really get a good look at what all has happened for Ichigo and what it all means for Remnant. Good luck with the feels and enjoy.**

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"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

No one could believe their eyes as a wave of black aura sliced the nevermore and deathstalker in half. Nora was the first person to break the silence.

"DO IT AGAIN!"

"Nora he's unconscious. One could assume he won't be doing that anytime soon."

"Awww. Ren you take the fun out of everything."

Weiss cut in, stating the obvious."Someone has to carry him and it's not going to be me." Everyone looked back and forth at each other as if they were afraid to touch him.

"Oh fine! If no one wants to carry the nearly naked dude, I'll do it myself!" Yang walked up and grabbed his arm that was still clutching Tensa Zangetsu and put it over her shoulder. "See guys! He isn't even that heavy!" Just then a dull blue glow emanated from his blade, the shape changed from a slender daito to a much larger knife like sword with no guard. "Oh god guys! I was wrong! He's really heavy, someone help!" Jaune ran over and grabbed his other arm.

"I've got him, just pick up the sword!" Ruby came over and picked up Zangetsu by the back of the blade and when she tried to pull it away the cloth coming off the hilt wrapped around his wrist locking the two together.

Ruby looked in wonder and thought 'Yang was right, this thing is pretty heavy. I wonder how he fights with it.' She looked at the grimm on the ground and decided,"Guys, this person just saved our butts the least we can do is get him back to beacon for medical treatment."

Everyone took turns carrying the giant sword (except weiss) and Yang was happy to only have to carry him. It took a while but eventually they brought him back to ozpin who had a VTOL waiting to take them all home.

"Very good job on surviving initiation, your results will be in soon. And it seems you've picked up an extra." Everyone noticed Ozpin's eyes widen when he saw the sword the boy was carrying. "Get him in the airship, now."

Ruby was worried about the look Ozpin was giving him,"Do you know him Professor Ozpin?"

"No. Not personally. But I know who he is."

"Really! What's his name?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper."

Ruby knew that there was something that Ozpin wasn't telling her but she just helped Yang put him on the stretcher and carry him onto the ship where the paramedics were waiting. They Immediately began hooking him up to the two different machines a heartbeat monitor and an aura meter. They placed a small clip on the end of his index finger and the heart monitor started beeping away. Yang let out a small sigh knowing that he was still alive, but then when they put a small patch right over his heart the aura meter exploded causing everyone in the ship except Ozpin to jump. Everyone was shocked until Nora yelled.

"DO IT AGAIN!" Ren just facepalmed and everyone laughed at their antics. The ride was uneventful other than the paramedics looking for any single wound that would cause him to pass out, but they couldn't find any. Not even a scratch on him, he was in perfect health and with no working aura meter they put 'aura overexertion' as his affliction. When they finally landed on the medical building's roof Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha all returned to the ballroom while Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang went with Ichigo to the hospital room. When they got there the four girls all helped to heave Ichigo onto the bed and right as the nurse tried to connect a new aura meter to Ichigo, Ozpin spoke up.

"Wait one moment, please." Ozpin walked over to the monitor and touched a few buttons and signaled to the nurse to go ahead. When the nurse put the patch on him and it made a full gauge bar and a number underneath. The nurse walked over and scribbled something down on her clipboard and spoke.

"I don't know what those silly paramedics were thinking. This boy's aura is just fine, he'll just need a good meal and lots of rest. He looks like he just came out of a war." Weiss scowled and asked.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Listen honey it doesn't take a professional to see all the scars this kid has." Everyone looked and sure enough there were tons of pale marks all over his chest and arms."I don't know how one man could stir up enough trouble to get all those trophies. Much less on how he's survived it all." She walked to the side of the bed and pointed to the large circular one right over his heart. "See this right here? It's the newest one, and if I'm right, he should be dead." She then grabbed his shoulder and turned him on his side revealing a perfect match on his back. "I'm right."

No one said anything as she walked out only looking at him with mixed emotions for a long time, but then Ozpin stood up. "I apologize but there is some business that I must attend to." And with that he left the room. The awkwardness was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Then Ruby asked.

"Sooo….. What do we do now?"

"Well little sis I plan on waiting for him to wake up and then punching him in the teeth."

"I can't believe you! You're such a savage!"

"That was a joke Weiss."

"Well it wasn't very funny." Weiss started scowling at Yang causing her to giggle.

"What's wrong Ice Queen, worried about the the big, hunky guy that saved you from being a pancake?"

"What of course not! What made you think such nonsense?!" Her face kept getting redder by the second. Until Ruby spoke up.

"Hey guys, do you think that this is like that one legend where the prince is trapped in a endless sleep and the noble princess comes in and gives him a kiss to wake him up?"

"Sis, I don't think that how the story goes, but if we need someone to kiss him I'm sure Weiss would have no problem with it."

"I told you I don't like him!" As the girls bickered back and forth Blake had pulled a chair up to his bed and was ghosting her fingertips over the different scars that decorated his chest. Her eyes slowly moved up his arms and she recognized that most of these were made by many different kinds of swords. She had a few herself but this was something completely different. 'How many times did he fight to survive?' Then she noticed his clothes, if you could call them that anymore. They were torn and tattered to the point his hakama barely clung to his hips if it weren't for that obi than his pants would've fallen a long time ago. His shihakusho was completely gone, only a loose sleeve still covered his arm. Her eyes lingered on his arms and she slowly traced the outlines of his muscles. She hadn't noticed it before but Ichigo was built like a tank, probably from all the fighting he's been through and swinging that massive blade around. When she looked at it nothing seemed special, nut then she looked closer. It was covered in scratches and knicks and the way the cloth was locked around his entire hand. 'He and this sword have been through everything together...it almost seems alive."

Just then a security guard came to the door and said,"Sorry ladies but we're locking up either stay the night with your friend here or leave."

They all looked at each other and decided,"We aren't going anywhere."

The guard looked at them and sighed,"Don't come whining to me. Those chairs are pretty uncomfortable."

Weiss looked at him and growled,"I'm sure we'll survive." He just shrugged, shut the door and locked it. Yang sat her head down on his bed while Weiss sat on his left in a chair and Ruby and Blake sat on his right.

 **Earlier that day in Ozpin's Clocktower**

The elevator slowly opened to reveal Glynda Goodwitch holding her tablet. She walked up to Ozpin's desk and sat down her tablet with a picture of Ichigo killing the two grimm from earlier."What do you know about him?"

Ozpin turned around in his chair lazily,"Not much actually. Unless you believe in legends?"

"Oh, not this again."

"Long ago there was a human who could see spirits. One day he met a soul reaper and became one of them to protect those he loved."

"What does this have to do with him?"

Ozpin pulled a book out of his desk and began flipping pages. "I didn't recognize him at first, but I did recognize this." Ozpin held his book up for Glynda to see a drawn picture of a cleaver like sword with a cloth wrapped around the handle.

Glynda gasped,"But that's the same one he's carrying!"

"Yes which means he is the man of legend. The substitute soul reaper."

"Or he found the sword and learned how to use it. Which is much more reasonable."

"Actually no."

"What?"

"First off he has the scars to prove he deserves a sword like that."

"Anyone playing with knives is bound to get cut eventually. You know that personally Ozpin."

"I wasn't done. Are you aware of what happened when the paramedics tried to get his aura readings?"

"Yes, a faulty unit exploded but no one was injured."

"I thought so too at first, but I Began to have my doubts on the flight back. The meter system works by giving all students a number anywhere from one to one hundred. One is a new recruit and one hundred is your average huntsman graduate. When Ichigo arrived at his room I reset the grading scale to where a one was a fully trained, veteran huntsman."

"And?!"

"Ichigo scored a ten."

"Well then, all that talk over nothing."

"You misunderstand. I took these measurements when he was knocking on death's door."

"So?"

"That means that even while dying this boy is ten times stronger than the best units at our disposal."

"I see. That changes things. What are you going to tell him when he wakes up?"

"The truth."

 **The next day.**

Sunshine creeped through the window and right into Ruby's eyes. She groaned and stretched her back popping all the way up. "Man he wasn't kidding about those chairs." She looked over at her sister who was laying on top of Ichigo's bare chest."Sure Yang, Weiss is the one that likes him." She almost jumped out of her skin when Blake started her chest, she rounded to her sister's partner,"You scared me silly. What are you doing up so early?"

"Just a habit."

Yang lifted her head up and looked at them through one eye,"Why are you two being so loud?"

"Enjoying your nap sis?"

Yang suddenly realized where she was and rolled off of him onto the floor waking up Weiss.

"What are you three doing?"

Just then the door opened and a new nurse walked in with a clipboard and quietly whispered,"How's he doing today?"

Weiss just stared at her,"Well he's obviously still asleep."

She walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at him. "Oh! He's not supposed to have that in bed with him. I guess that Connie just forgot. I'll just take that sweetie." She set her clipboard aside and tried to pry Zangetsu's cloth off of his wrist. He visibly tensed and his free arm shot out and shoved the nurse to the ground. Ichigo began tossing and turning pulling on the sheets and ripping them.

"Ori...Orihime. _Groan_ No! No! No! No!"

The nurse got off the floor and ran to the door. "Charlie come quick he's having a nightmare!"

Charlie jogged into the room and looked at him. He walked up to the side of Ichigo's bed and watched him grab the metal rail and bend it with his bare hand."Yep he's a strong one. I'll have to restrain him.

He reached for the Leather strap and Yang cut in,"Wait, I wouldn't do that. He's really strong."

"Not that strong blondie." He put Ichigo's right arm into the restraint and Ichigo screamed. Ichigo grabbed Charlie by his neck and threw him over the bed and into the medicine cabinet on the left side of the room. He then ripped out of the restraint and raised his sword."GETSUGA!"

Blake tackled Ruby to the ground right as a massive wave of blue energy tore through the wall behind them creating a gigantic hole in the side of the building. Ruby and Blake got up and tried to hold him down. Ruby started crying as she said,"Ichigo please stop this!"

Ichigo stopped thrashing and pulled Ruby and Blake into a warm hug,"I'm sorry Yuzu, Karin I'll make up the homework right after I get back here."

Just then Connie walked in and looked at everything. "God damn Charlie, I leave you and Betty alone for five minutes and all this happened. I don't get paid enough for this." Connie walked back out and Ichigo's eyes slowly opened to lock with Ruby's silver ones. Ichigo blushed and let the two girls go."Sorry."

Ruby took a few steps back and said,"It's fine you only destroyed the building a little."

"I what?" Ichigo looked to his right to see the massive hole in the wall."Oh. I swear that doesn't happen often." Ichigo moved to get up and his obi caught on the torn metal rail.

Blake tried to stop him,"WAIT!"

Ichigo looked at her in confusion right as his hakama fell to his ankles.

"HEL-LO!"

"LOOK AWAY RUBY!"

"MY EYES!"

Blake had the biggest blush on her face as she threw the sheet over him. He just looked away from them."Thanks."

"No problem. I think we should leave and let him get dressed."

"Weiss and Ruby had to drag Yang out of the room, Blake and Betty picked up Charlie and carried him out of the room. Then Ichigo realized something: there wasn't any clothes in the room, so he did what he had to do.

"I wonder what's taking him so long!"

"What's wrong Weiss? Missing your boyfriend already?"

"Bankai!" The door opened to reveal Ichigo wearing a long, black coat and a new pair of hakama. Everyone was staring at him until Weiss spoke up.

"He cleans up nice." Everyone was shocked to hear Weiss give an actual complement until Ruby's stomach growled.

"Come on little red riding hood let's go get some breakfast."

"You're only the second person to call me little red!"

"What do I call you then?"

"I'm Ruby, my sister there is Yang, and that is Blake and Weiss."

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"We know."

 **In the cafeteria**

Ichigo and the others sat down with their food right next to Jaune and Pyrrha. Ichigo took one look at them and instantly decided they were destined to be together.

"Hello."

"Glad to see you're up. My name's Pyrrha and this is Jaune. I'd like to thank you for taking care of those grimm. They were giving us trouble."

"I just did what anyone would do."

Jaune looked up from his plate and right at Ichigo,"Did you know that Ozpin is holding the test results from initiation?"

"No. I was asleep until five minutes ago."

"Just saying. When people asked Ms. Goodwitch about it she said that one of the students came back 'Inconclusive.'"

Ichigo looked over to Ruby who had finished her plate of cookies and was eyeing the one on his plate. He picked it up and tried to hand it to her but she just bit it and took it from him. 'She's so adorable.' When he started smiling and she cocked an eyebrow at him he couldn't help but laugh.

"Ahem. Mr. Kurosaki?" Ichigo turned around to see Ozpin with a worried look on his face."I need to speak to you in my office."

Ruby started giggling and Yang taunted him,"Ohhh, Ichi's in trouble!"

"You four will be coming as well."

All of them looked shocked.

 **In Ozpin's office.**

"I suppose you know why I called you here, Ichigo."

"Knowing my luck. You're probably going to try and recruit me for your cause."

"I'm surprised. You're very astute."

"I know a person like you."

"Knew."

"What do you mean?"

"Read this." Ozpin picked up a book off his desk and handed it to Ichigo."You may want to sit down first." Ichigo pulled out the chair on the other side of Ozpin's desk and read aloud. "A Hero's Legacy by Kisuke Urahara. Of course he wrote a book. Of course." Ichigo turned and read the summary on the back."This is the story of the Hero who fought to protect all those close to him and even those who weren't. Man, hat and clogs is a great shopkeeper but a terrible author. He started by meeting the soul reaper Rukia Kuchiki. AW FUCK! HE ACTUALLY TRIED TO MAKE MONEY OFF ME! I SWEAR WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM!"

"Ichigo, there's something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"That book is over 500 years old. I'm sorry to have to tell you this." Ichigo sank back into his chair as a look of shock crossed his face. "There was a small possibility that you weren't the man of legend, but you confirmed it yourself. I'm not quite sure how it is that you are here."

Ichigo just looked at the book in his lap and deadpanned,"The dangai. I wanted to deny that it happened but it did."

"What happened?"

"During my last fight I was knocked into something called the restrictive current. I guess I found out what happens to anything that touches it." Then he looked up at Ozpin with tears in his eyes."What happened to them?"

"The legend says that after Aizen defeated the thirteen court guard squads, squad zero appeared and tried to fight Aizen. He was too strong for them to defeat and with nothing standing between him and the soul king he went on to complete his dream. After he had killed the soul king, he died from his wounds and left the Hogyoku to mandate the flow of souls. The different dimensions collided and merged. The great nations are all that remains of the world of the living and Hueco Mundo has become the badlands where grimm run wild, also the crescent moon of Hueco Mundo crashed into the moon of the living and created the shattered moon you see now."

"What happened to the soul society?"

"Unfortunately It was caught in the middle. Nothing remains." Those words hit Ichigo like a ton of bricks.

And then he smiled,"Well damn."

Weiss couldn't stand the tension anymore so she screamed," Well damn?! Do you even realize what this all means?! How big of an idiot are you?!"

"I know exactly what it means. All my friends are dead and I won't see them ever again." Ichigo smiled wider when a thought passed through his mind. 'She's so much like Rukia.'

"How can you say that while smiling, do you even have a heart?"

"Of course I do. I'm gonna miss them just like anyone should; however, this book proves that they missed me just as much, and if they could find the strength to carry on, then I guess I'll have to do it too."

"You are the most idiotic, stupid, and thick-skulled person I've ever met!"

"Two of those words meant the same thing, Weiss."

"You! You! You…"

Ichigo Calmly walked up to her and pulled her into a hug,"Don't worry about me. I'm gonna be just fine."

She started sobbing into his chest and choked out,"Who said I was worried about you. I couldn't care less if you ever see your friends again."

Ozpin walked up behind Ichigo and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Would you be willing to make a life here and put your skills to use as a huntsman?"

"No. I've never needed or wanted some government's permission to swing my sword around." Ichigo reached into his pocket and pulled out his combat pass he got from the soul society and looked at the girls that had shown so much compassion to him."But if doing this will make things easier, then I'll graduate your academy so I can do my duty as a substitute soul reaper."

"Very well."

 **Later that day at the welcoming ceremonies.**

Ichigo chuckled as Jaune fell over after being punched by Pyrrha. Ichigo was standing offstage while he watched the kids walk across the stage and be assigned to teams. The only people left not paired up were Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Blake.

"And finally we have Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces; however, this year we had a surprise student who through his own merits carved out a spot among us. Whether by circumstance or destiny I'd like to welcome Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo smiled and walked up next to Ruby. "From now on you five will be known as team RWBIY." Ruby jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in glee. Ichigo couldn't wipe the smile off his face as one thought passed through his mind.

'What have I gotten myself into this time?'

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This took a lot longer than I thought. I tried to make my chapter as long as some of the other authors that I read, comment if you like it longer or short. As always massive credit goes to IchiFell for all his help. See you next time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Guys! I'm back again to crank out chapter four in this series. I was really happy to hit 1000+ views the last chapter, so I was amazed when I saw we had 3000+! I'm sorry I got to this so late. School has been a bitch and shit happens so haven't been able to write in a while Anyway a few people were commenting about little issues and holes that were in the exposition and I assure you those holes were put there on purpose. Later chapters will reveal more on that. Ichigo is 17 but calls the team kids sometimes because of the way they act. I bet you all are wondering who I'm going to pair Ichigo with. Well that's for me to know, and you to read later. As always, R &R and enjoy.**

Ichigo was walking out of the auditorium when Ozpin grabbed his shoulder. "I'd like to ask you a question young man."

"Go for it."

"Do you have any clothes besides the outfit you're wearing?"

Ichigo face faulted and yelled,"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?!"

Ozpin remained calm and pushed him back onto his heels,"A honest one. The clothes you came in wearing were in tatters but the hakama you're wearing look almost identical. This means you can either make new outfits or you brought one with you. So which is it? And try to keep your voice down, you are in a school."

"I can make new clothes identical to these as long as I have enough energy."

Ozpin smiled tried to hide it behind his coffee mug,"Well then, how would you like some new clothes?"

"Sorry. I don't want any charity."

"I'm well aware of your moralities Ichigo. I was going to offer you an opportunity to earn the lien to buy them yourself."

Ruby jumped on Ichigo's back and said,"Ichigo that's a mission like the real huntsman do! You have to do it!"

"Fine, as long as I get to sleep afterward."

"Very good. Now run along girls you'll need your rest for your first day tomorrow."

"Alright." Ruby let go of Ichigo's neck and led the other's away,"See you later Ichigo."

"See ya." Ichigo turned around to look at Ozpin,"So what was this mission?"

Ozpin waved to Ms. Goodwitch and she walked over with an annoyed look on her face."Hello Mr. Kurosaki my name is Glynda Goodwitch. I'm the combat instructor here at beacon and this." She held out her scroll and showed him a video feed of some forest with grimm scattered around. When Ichigo tried to take the tablet she smacked the back of his hand with her riding crop."That is mine Mr. Kurosaki. Not yours."

"Fine, I get it. Don't touch the stupid tablet."

Glynda gasped and was preparing to yell at the boy for all she was worth but Ozpin placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She corrected her posture and spoke in the sweetest voice she could muster,"Your mission is to go to Emerald Peak Forest and clear out every grimm you find. Not only will this be your first mission, but it will also show us if you are worthy of the pedestal Ozpin has put you on." She then turned with a huff and stormed off down a hallway.

Ichigo just ignored her and looked back at Ozpin,"Which way do I go?"

Ozpin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, phone like device."This is your scroll Ichigo. Get very familiar with it because it has everything you might need for school life or otherwise." Ichigo opened his mouth to protest but Ozpin cut him off,"And before you say you can't take it. Let me tell you that it's covered by the school's admission fee, part of your mission's payment." Ichigo just took it from him and put it in his pocket.

Ichigo looked Ozpin dead in the eyes,"Thank you."

"For what."

"You gave me a second chance. I'll try not to waste it." With that Ichigo turned and walked away

 **Later that night in team RWBIY's dorm room**

All the girls were in their pyjamas ready for bed when Ichigo walked in. Part of his coattail was torn off and he was covered in sweat. He looked right at ruby and pointed a finger,"Next time Ozpin makes me an offer, don't encourage him."

"Sorry. How bad was it?"

Ichigo relaxed and gave her a weak smile,"It wasn't too hard except they just kept coming out of nowhere for the longest time. I thought it was never gonna end." Ichigo lifted his arm and immediately drew back,"Wow I need a shower."

Ruby got off her bed and grabbed a box from the couch then handed it to Ichigo."That came for you as soon as you left."

Yang looked up from brushing her hair and said,"So did Weiss!"

Weiss fell out of her bed and yelled at Yang,"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" She crossed her arms and mumbled,"Idon'tcarehowgoodhelooks…"

Ichigo opened the box and pulled out a school uniform,"Alright then, I wonder how he got my measurements." He took the box, walked off to the bathroom, and shut the door behind him.

Blake was hiding her blush behind her book because she was the only one who heard Weiss. 'She likes Ichigo! No. Maybe all of Yang's teasing will keep her away. Unless that's what Yang is trying to do and she likes him too! Stop! You're overthinking this!'

Nothing seemed to happen for as long as Ichigo was in the shower, Blake was lost in her own thoughts and found it very hard to concentrate on her book, Yang just laid on her back brushing her hair, Weiss refused to even look in Yang's direction or towards the bathroom door, the only sound in the room was the rhythmic thumps of Ruby's feet hitting the bed as she layed on her stomach staring at the wall. Then the silence was broken when Yang spoke up,"Anyone wanna talk about cute boys?"

"No! I know that as soon as any topic even remotely related to boys comes up you're going to say I want to sleep with Ichigo again!"

"No one ever said anything about that. Are you getting your hopes up?"

"WHAT?! I would never be caught dead with him in a million years."

What she didn't know was that Ichigo had already come out of the shower and was standing behind her. He was only wearing the pants the school had given him his sword was attached to the red loop that wrapped around his chest. His wet hair clung to the side of his face and the box held the rest of his clothes."Don't make it sound so horrible. I like to think I'm a pretty nice guy."

Weiss turned five shades redder than should be possible for someone with her skin tone and hid under the covers of her bed,"GOODNIGHT!"

Yang laughed so hard she cried and couldn't breathe until she fell off her bed and started rolling around on the floor. Ichigo looked around the room and noticed something important,"Only four beds? Guess I'm sleeping on the floor."

"You could always _GASP_ sleep with Weiss!"

Weiss screamed at her from under the covers,"SHUT UP YOU SHE-DEVIL!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and pulled some blankets and a pillow out of the closet."Hey Ichigo?"

"Yeah Blake?"

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Ichigo blushed and looked down,"Yeah...about that. I noticed it's hotter here than what I'm used to back home. So I decided not to wear one."

"Is that gonna be an all the time kinda thing?"

Ichigo chuckled,"No, not during the day."

"Okay."

Yang had caught her breath and looked over at Blake,"You sound disappointed."

"Be quiet." Blake threw her pillow at Yang's head and she fell back onto her bed,"Ichigo, you are the best thing to happen to my comedy routine since Knock-Knock Jokes."

"Glad to help." Ichigo had finished making his bed and turned out the light. "Goodnight girls."

 **Later**

Ichigo's head was full of dreams: what school was going to be like, his teachers, his new team, his old team. Images of them flashed through his mind. Chad. 'I'm sorry I couldn't stand and fight with you.' Uryuu. 'I guess we'll never get around to that rematch.' Rukia. 'She must've been through so much without me' Renji. 'He's gonna be alright, He'll watch out for everyone else.' Orihime. 'I'm sorry I couldn't protect you.' Protect you. Ichigo felt a cold hand wrap around his neck and lift him up. His eyes shot open to see Ulquiorra staring at him. It seemed as the whole world was moving in slow motion as his finger began to rise up from his side. Ichigo felt fear wash over him 'No! Not again! Move Damn it! Move!' As much as he wanted to scream Ulquiorra fired the cero right through his heart and threw him off the tower. Ichigo's eyes began to close as the feeling of death washed over him.

"NOO!"

Ichigo shot up out of his cot breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Blake had already crossed the room and flicked on the lights. He had one hand over the scar on his chest and was staring at it with wide eyes.

Ruby appeared next to him in a burst of flower petals and grabbed his free hand,"Are you okay?!"

Ichigo turned his head towards the sound and realised where he was. He looked down at his hands,"Sorry."

Weiss looked at him and asked,"It was a nightmare wasn't it? Do you want to talk about it?"

Ichigo looked away at the far wall and let go of Ruby's hand,"No, I'm fine. Go back to sleep. I'm gonna go for a walk." He went to stand up and had almost made it to the door when Blake stopped him with a finger on his scar.

"It was about this wasn't it?"

"No. Go back to bed."

Yang went behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach in a hug,"We want to help, but we can't if we don't know what's wrong."

Ichigo relaxed a bit and turned around. "Fine." Yang let go of him and motioned for him to sit on her bed. He walked over and his legs seemed to give out as he flopped down on the bed.

Ruby took a spot behind him and asked,"Where did you get that scar?"

Ichigo touched the perfect circle on the front of his chest and looked at the others that decorated his arms, chest and back. "Most of these I earned. They all have stories behind them, some are happier than others." He pointed to the one right below his shoulder,"This one was from the first time I met Renji and Byakuya. It was the first time I really got knocked on my ass." His hand drifted just a few inches away to a small diamond shaped scar,"This was from my first fight with Kenpachi. He taught me how to fight without fear." He moved back to the center of his chest and let out a long, sad sigh,"But this one was when I learned what fear really is."

Blake reached out and touched it. "It's okay, you can tell us what happened."

"I had a friend. Her name was Orihime." Weiss drew in a small breath knowing that was the same girl he was calling out for in the hospital. "She had been kidnapped and me and my friends had gone to save her." Ichigo looked down at his feet and a single tear fell from his eye."But I failed."

Yang couldn't believe it,"Ichigo, what do you mean?"

He looked back at her and everyone saw the tears that were threatening to fall. When he tried to speak his voice came out in a whisper. "I wasn't strong enough. When I almost had her safe again, I died and came back as some...monster."

Ruby gave him a hug from behind,"Don't be crazy. If you died than you wouldn't be here, and you are no monster."

"Then why do I have the scar to prove it? What's the worst part is I'm not scared of it. I'm afraid of dying again."

Weiss looked him in the eye,"Then I guess you're gonna be just fine."

"What?"

"If you're afraid of dying then you'll just have to get stronger so that doesn't happen."

Ichigo cracked a smile and let out a small laugh,"Story of my life."

Yang hugged him so hard his back popped and threw him back onto the bed,"I can see you're feeling much better so you're gonna sleep with me. I chase all those nasty nightmares away." Ichigo blushed and started stammering wildly. "No arguing!" She trapped him under the covers and snuggled up to him. Ruby just laughed and turned out the light.

"Goodnight. Again."

 **The next morning**

Sunlight shone brightly through the window as Weiss' eyes fluttered open and she sat up to stretch away the stiffness. Then she fell off the bed when Ruby decided to blow a whistle right in her ear.

"Good morning team RWBIY!" Ruby jumped down off of the bed with a bounce.

"What in the world is wrong with you?"

Ruby crossed her arms behind her back,"Now that you're awake we can officially begin our first order of business."

"Excuse me?" She got up off the floor and dusted herself off.

Yang walked up with several items in her arms that should've been impossible for her to get. "Decorating!"

Ichigo pulled a large golden shield out of her arms,"Where did you get Pyrrha's shield from?"

She lied. "Nowhere…"

"I'm gonna return this." Ichigo turned to walk out the door.

"Aww. You're no fun."

Blake held up her suitcase,"Anyway. We still have to unpack." Her suitcase fell open dumping all her stuff on the floor. "And clean."

Ruby decided to blow her whistle again, knocking over Weiss,"Alright! Weiss, Blake, Yang, and their fearless leader Ruby have begun their first mission." She raised a fist to the air and yelled,"BANZAI!"

Blake and Yang popped up on both sides of her and mimicked her actions. "BANZAI!" They then bent ever so slightly to the right as Ichigo walked back into the room. Weiss just let out a sigh as Ichigo helped her up. "I know how you feel. The same thing happened to me when Don Kanonji showed up. Stupid spreads like wildfire."

"Finally, someone who understands."

The next few minutes was everyone going around placing random items that they had brought with them. Until they saw what happened. There was too much stuff and the beds had been shoved together. Weiss crossed her arms,"This isn't going to work."

Blake shook her head,"It is a bit cramped."

Weiss looked at Ichigo and pointed her finger,"This is all your fault."

"How is this my fault?"

"You are the only fifth team member I've ever heard of, and it's obvious that this room was made for four people so this is your fault."

Ichigo facepalmed,"You realize that I own a book, a box, and a sword right? I am only 2 percent of this problem."

"Touche."

Ruby looked like a bolt of lightning hit her,"We should ditch the beds and replace them with bunk beds!"

" sounds incredibly dangerous."

Yang fist pumped,"And super awesome!"

Blake looked at the others,"It does seem efficient."

Weiss looked at Ichigo nervously,"W-Well, we should put it to a vote."

Ichigo chuckled,"I think we just did."

The three girls rushed towards the bed and Weiss just huffed,"Fine then! If it has to be that way!"

"Weiss come help me!" Ruby, Blake, and Yang were trying to lift the bed up to tie it to the ceiling.

"Here. Let me get that." Ichigo walked over and grabbed a bedpost with one hand and lifted the whole bed up. All the girls just stared at him. "What?"

Yang poked his bicep,"Just how strong are you?"

"After swinging around Zangetsu for so long, anything else just feels light to me." Blake finished tying the bed up and he let go of it.

Ruby and Weiss came over carrying big stacks of books and waited for Ichigo to lift up the other bed. Ruby looked at Ichigo and cocked an eyebrow,"Zangetsu? You named your weapon too?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head as they started stacking books on top of the bedposts,"No, not really. The name kinda came with the sword."

Ruby finished and Ichigo set the bed back down. "I like the idea of naming weapons. I think they are an extension of ourselves."

"The case is a bit different for me. Zangetsu is nice and all but he's an awful conversationalist. Then I can't ever get 'him' to shut up."

Weiss looked at him like he had three heads,"You talk...To your sword."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it, I swear I'm not crazy." He looked over at the team's leader,"So what's next?"

She flopped down on the bed and opened a book sadly,"Classes. Now, we have a few classes together today. At 9:00 we've gotta be…"

Weiss cut her off,"What?! Did you say nine O'clock?!"

"Umm…"

She stomped her foot,"It's 8:58 you dunce! We'll never make it in time!"

"Oh, yes we will!" Ichigo put Zangetsu on his back and threw Blake and Yang over his shoulders.

"Hey!"

"Sorry you guys, but you're the slowest." He took off running down the hallway at olympic speeds,"Lets go girls!" Weiss and Ruby caught up with him in a flash of glyphs and rose petals and right as they dove through the door the bell rang.

"Made It!" Everyone whooped in victory until professor Port cleared his throat.

"If you would, please take your seats."

"Right. Sorry." Ichigo set Blake and Yang down on the ground and tried to walk to his seat, but Yang grabbed the collar of his uniform and whispered into his ear.

"If you ever do that again I will put the squeeze on you."

Ichigo just laughed and walked away,"Still not as scary as Unohana." He sat down in his chair next to Weiss,"Not even close."

The class seemed to drag on for longer than Ichigo's patience could hold out. The professor was a rotund and very long winded man who was telling some story about his grandfather who smelled like lettuce or something. Ichigo had lost all respect for him though after he tried to make a pass on Yang. Ruby was drawing a picture, Yang had a strand of hair over her shoulder and was stroking it happily, Blake was the only one paying attention, Weiss was glaring at Ruby, and Ichigo only looked like he was sleeping. He was actually watching everyone. Years of tracking blades had made him more attentive than anyone gave him credit for. Even with his eyes almost closed he could see that the professor's fly was down, he could see that Pyrrha kept looking up from her paper at Jaune, and he could definitely see the way that Weiss was shaking in anger.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss' hand shot up faster than the eye could see,"I do sir!"

"Well then, let's find out. Step forward, and meet your opponent." He motioned to a very angry cage next to him.

When Weiss stood up to go change Ichigo stopped her with a hand on her shoulder,"Be careful."

Weiss just turned away and stormed off,"Don't tell me what to do!"

'What's her problem?'

In two minutes flat she came back from the bathroom wearing her signature dress and holding Myrtenaster.

"Go Weiss!"

Blake waved a little flag that had the team's acronym on it,"Fight well!"

"Yeah! Represent team RWBIY!"

She turned back towards Ruby and yelled,"Ruby, I'm trying to focus."

Ruby sank down,"Oh. Sorry."

"All right." Prof. Port raised his blunderbuss axe,"Let the match, begin!" He swung his axe down and chopped off the lock revealing a very angry boarbatusk.

No sooner than the cage door had hit the ground the grimm was charging at Weiss. She gracefully dodged to the side and slashed at its side but the attack bounced off the bone plates growing out of it. It then turned around and prepared to charge again.

The professor laughed heartily,"Haha! Wasn't expecting that were you?"

Ruby tried to encourage her,"Hang in there Weiss!"

Weiss rushed forward and tried to impale it, but the tip of her blade just bounced off and she got slammed by its tusks leaving Myrtenaster caught between them. Ichigo scooted forward in his seat as Weiss fought to get her blade back.

The professor mistook her struggling for her blade as her wrestling it,"Bold new approach. I like it!"

Ruby had her hands up like she was in a fistfight,"Come on Weiss, show it who's boss!"

Weiss looked away from the grimm to Ruby and Myrtenaster was thrown across the room. The boarbatusk then turned and rammed her chest, sending her flying across the room. Ichigo scooted to where he was barely even on his chair and his eyes darted from Weiss to Myrtenaster to the boarbatusk over and over again.

The professor almost mocked Weiss' efforts,"Oh ho! Now what will you do without your weapon?"

Weiss looked up in fear as the grimm charged. Ichigo appeared in front of her with his arm cocked back, surprising everyone. The grimm never slowed down as Ichigo's fist collided with its face, shattering the armor and crushing its skull. The boarbatusk flew across the room and made a dent in the far wall. Weiss got off the ground and slapped Ichigo across the face,"That was my fight! Why doesn't anyone think I can do this?!"

"Weiss…"

"No! This entire experience has been awful! I was the damsel in distress during initiation! Our team leader is entirely incompetent! And my own team doesn't even think I can kill a grimm on my own!"

Ichigo just turned around and walked back to his seat,"Next time I won't save you, and if you hesitate again..." He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder,"You will die."

As Ichigo pulled out his seat, Weiss saw the blood that was flowing out of his busted knuckles. She instantly felt regret wash over her, but with nothing left to say all she could do was run out the door when the bell rang.

'I'm sorry.'

 **I just have one thing to say before I go. "Does anyone know if you capitalize grimm names?" Answer in the comments. I'm really fucking confused. Bye.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I've gotta say. I've had a blast making this and it is nowhere near over yet. My favorite part of doing this is watching the traffic graph and reading everyone's reviews. I started on this chapter early because in the first two days I had chapter four posted, we got 1430+ views! I was happy that morning! Kamen Rider W thought that I'm gonna pair Ichigo with Weiss...we'll see. Chapter four was focused around them, but had little hints at Blake and Yang peppered in there too. And like I said this is nowhere near over yet, I got A LOT of ideas for this. Have fun and enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo leaned against the spire of Beacon's clocktower and let out a tired sigh.

'Poor Weiss. I never thought she might feel that way. What am I gonna do?'

"Ichigo! Where are you?" Blake and Yang were down below looking for him.

Then Blake looked up and saw his black outline,"How the hell did he get up there?"

"What are you talking about?" Blake pointed and Yang followed it,"Still not seeing him. Where is he?"

"On top of the tower. Just sitting there."

Yang had to make a pair of binoculars with her hands,"Oh! I think I see him. You have _REALLY_ good eyes. You know that?" She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled,"Get down from there! Are you crazy?"

"Go away!"

Blake looked at her partner,"Guess he wants to be alone."

"Not for long." Yang reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll.

"What're you doing?" Blake tried to look over her shoulder but Yang just pushed her back.

"You'll see." She pressed a few more buttons,"Aaaand done!" Yang's rocket locker flew out of one part of the school and landed right where Ichigo was sitting."That's weird. I could've swore I had the numbers right."

"Are you trying to kill him?!" Blake threw a finger up to emphasize her point and when she did Ichigo landed right where she was pointing, creating a small crater. She turned toward him,"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"What do you two want?" Ichigo crossed his arms and scowled at them,"I'm not in the best of moods right now."

Yang walked up and poked him in the chest,"You need to talk to Weiss. She blew a fuse on you."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head,"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know what I'm gonna say to her." Ichigo turned around and put his hands on his hips,"I knew a girl that was just like her. She didn't want me to save her either. The only difference was, she was helpless."

Blake walked in front of him,"None of us are helpless Ichigo. That's what made Weiss so mad."

"I know that, and I never said any of you were helpless. You wouldn't be at beacon if you were, but I don't care. Orihime wasn't helpless and I still tried to save her."

Blake looked him dead in the eyes,"You need to make things right with her."

"Alright."

 **In the hallway a few minutes ago**

Ruby ran around the corner trying to find a certain heiress, then she saw her,"Weiss!"

She turned around clearly angry,"What?"

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being…"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader and so far all you've been is a nuisance."

Ruby scoffed,"What did I do?"

Weiss pointed a finger at Ruby,"That's just it, you've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so."

"Weiss where is this coming from? Why are we just now talking about it? And what's your problem with Ichigo."

"Ichigo doesn't belong here and neither do you." Weiss walked away and ruby had to try her best not to cry. As she turned to leave she came face to face with Ozpin.

"Hmm. Now that didn't seem to go very well."

Ruby looked down at the ground,"Is she right? Do I really not belong here?"

He took a sip from his coffee mug,"That remains to be seen."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's only been one day. Ruby, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment I do not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them." He leaned in close to her,"Do you?" He stood up straight,"Being a team leader is not only a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" Ozpin turned around and spoke over his shoulder,"You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility, Ruby. I advise you to take some time, to think about how you will uphold it."

She thought about all he had said and walked back to her room.

 **With Weiss**

Weiss was walking without purpose, trying her best not to think of Ruby or Ichigo. She was failing.

'I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I? Now Ichigo and Ruby , if not the whole team, hate me. If only he had let me win that fight on my own then none of this would've happened. But he got hurt because of me. What do I do?'

"You know if you scowl anymore, then your face will stay like that."

Weiss looked to her side to see Ichigo leaning on the rail looking out at the sunset. "You!" She pointed her finger at him,"You have some nerve talking to me after that stunt you pulled."

"Wasn't my idea. I wanted to leave you alone and give you time to think." He turned and looked at her,"Blake and Yang were worried about you, so they found me and made me come talk to you."

'So they don't hate me?'

Ichigo looked down at his shoes,"I'm sorry."

Weiss had to do a double take,"What?"

"From the moment I really got to know you I thought you were just like Rukia. When I saw you were in danger I don't know who I went to save, you or her." Weiss walked closer to him and tried to say something but her stopped her,"I'm not done. After I had some time to think about it I realized that you aren't her. You are not helpless, and if I watch over you all the time like I did today, then you'd never grow on your own."

"Ichigo." Weiss felt tears well up in her eyes."I'm sorry too, I was mad, and I didn't think I got what I deserved. I yelled at you and Ruby and I just don't know how to fix it." She looked down at the ground in shame until she felt something hit her arm.

"Don't worry about it. I don't hold grudges. I don't think Ruby does either." Ichigo gave her a warm smile,"Let's go back. It's getting late."

Weiss wiped her tears away on her sleeve,"Alright."

 **The next day**

Ichigo woke up early the next morning half expecting his dad to jump out of nowhere screaming his name and kicking him in the face but all he found was Yang cuddling up next to him. He still wasn't all for sleeping in the same bed as her, but she did keep the nightmares away and in her words 'He makes a good pillow.' Ichigo peeled Yang off of him and jumped down out of bed trying not to wake up Blake. He grabbed his box of clothes and headed for the shower.

'If I'm quick I can take a shower and get out before anyone wakes up.'

Ichigo took his shower and right as he opened the door he got flashed by Yang who was trying to get dressed. Ichigo whipped around and slammed the door bathroom door shut,"Put some clothes on!"

Yang teased him through the door,"Like what you see?"

Ichigo turned even redder,"Hell no! Why would I?"

"It's not everyday you get to see a woman's charm."

"I don't care! Yoruichi's were bigger anyway."

Yang let out a shocked gasp and banged on the door,"What? Impossible! Who is this woman and why did you see her boobs?"

"Are you dressed yet?"

"Yeah, Now spill your guts!"

Ichigo slowly opened the door to see the entire team was awake and dressed. "Well so much for letting you guys sleep in."

Yang grabbed his collar and pulled him in close,"Talk."

"Alright, fine. Yoruichi was one of my teachers and friends. When we weren't training her favorite activity was flashing or embarrassing me."

Yang let go of his shirt and put her hands on her hips,"I would've liked this woman. She sounds like she knows how to have a good time."

"She was a lot like you. Come on, we have cobat practice today." Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu and placed it on his back,"We don't want to be late."

Team RWBIY walked into the classroom a bit early to find only a few students and Ms. Goodwitch. The girls walked over to their seats and Ichigo strode over to Ms. Goodwitch,"We meet again."

She just rolled her eyes,"Yes, Mr. Kurosaki it was bound to happen eventually."

"You don't sound to happy about that. I'm guessing my mission results came back alright then."

She spat out through her teeth,"Yes. You did quite well."

Ichigo had a shit eating grin on his face,"So what was it you said? Something about a pedestal and Ozpin."

She sat down her scroll and looked him dead in the eyes,"Mr. Kurosaki, Ichigo, Ozpin may put up with this kind of behavior, but you are in _my_ classroom and have to _my_ rules. Are we clear?"

Ichigo just chuckled and turned to walk to his seat,"We'll see."

Class ticked by painfully. _Literally._ The first part of class wasn't anything special until Jaune had to fight Cardin. Jaune wasn't the best fighter and Cardin was absolutely ruthless in the ring. He had Jaune on the ropes without even trying. Cardin lazily hung his mace over his shoulder and Jaune was hunched over breathing heavily. Cardin just laughed at Jaune as the blonde charged, swinging his sword down. Cardin dodged to the side and swung his mace around to catch Jaune's shield, sending him flying. Jaune's shield skitted across the floor and he decided to charge again without it. Cardin caught Jaune's sword on his mace and tried to push him to the floor,"This is the part where you lose."

"Over my dead…" Jaune was cut off when Cardin kicked him right in the fun bits. The poor blonde doubled over and hit the floor. Cardin raised his mace to strike the final blow, but the buzzer sounded and the lights turned off.

"Cardin, that's enough." Ms. Goodwitch walked over holding her riding crop and scroll,"Students, as you can see Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match. Mr. Arc please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more...defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, (Most people, including IchiFell said to capitalize.) now would we?"

Cardin mumbled,"Speak for yourself."

"Mr. Winchester, how are you feeling?"

"After a fight with that weakling, I'm not even sweating." Cardin swung his mace up onto his shoulder and flexed his bicep.

Ms. Goodwitch just rolled her eyes,"Very good. I trust that you won't object to another match then?"

"Yeah whatever. Who am I beating the crap out of this time?"

A huge smile came over her face as she looked up from her scroll and into the stands,"Mr. Kurosaki will you come down here please?"

Ichigo had his chair leaned back on two legs and was half asleep,"No."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Ichigo opened his eyes and looked down at her,"I said no." Weiss scooted away from him.

Glynda was going to say something else but Cardin beat her to it,"What's wrong carrot-top? You scared?"

Ichigo just closed his eyes again,"No."

"I think you are." Cardin pointed his mace at him,"Guess we'll find out when I come up there and kick your ass." Ichigo just yawned and stuck a pinky in his ear. "And after I'm done with you I'll move on to those bitches you call teammates."

All Cardin heard was the chair's legs hitting the floor. Then he felt Ichigo's fingers in his hair, pulling his head up, and Zangetsu on his throat,"Let's get one thing clear. I'm not scared of you or any of your little friends either. I won't fight you, because unlike you, I don't fight over some pissing contest. I fight," Ichigo pushed his head forward slightly drawing blood from his neck,"to kill." Ichigo lowered Zangetsu and shoved Cardin to the ground. As he walked away he looked back at him,"Try not to shit your pants."

Ichigo sat back down and Ruby leaned over,"That was so cool!"

Cardin scrambled to his feet,"Screw this! I'm not fighting that crazy bastard, find someone else!" He took his mace and ran back to his seat.

Ichigo had just closed his eyes to go back to sleep when Ms. Goodwitch used her telekinesis to throw his chair across the room and right into the ring,"You weren't dismissed, Mr. Kurosaki." She pressed a few buttons on her scroll and the picture of Cardin changed to one of herself,"You must at least showcase some of your abilities."

"Alright then. Try to keep up." Ichigo took off running towards her, and right when it looked like he was going to tackle her, he disappeared.

"What?" She whipped her head around, frantically looking for him until she saw him standing in the corner of the ring.

"I told you to keep up." He then disappeared again only to flash in front of her for an instant.

'He's playing with me! If he insists on playing games then I have a few of my own.'

She fired a bolt from her crop and it looked like it was going to hit him until he flashed away again."Stand still!"

Ichigo appeared in front of her,"But I am! This is me moving!" Glynda was surrounded by dozens of afterimages of Ichigo, but then they were all gone, Ms. Goodwitch looked up to see Ichigo back in his seat next to a giggling Ruby.

"What is so funny Ms. Rose?!"

"She's just laughing at how poorly you keep up with your stuff." Ichigo held up her riding crop. "I thought you loved this thing. Yet you let me take it right out of your hands." He threw it back to her and stood up to walk out the door.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"You better watch that temper Glynda. You'll give yourself stress lines." Ichigo walked out of the classroom followed by the rest of the team. He looked at the others,"That was fun! Let's go get some lunch."

 **In the cafeteria**

"So, there we were, in the middle of the night." Nora looked at everyone with wide eyes.

Ren contradicted her,"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai." Yang was listening intently but her partner was staring off into space.

"They were Beowolves."

Nora jumped up from her seat,"DOZENS OF THEM!"

"Two of em."

"But they were no match, and in the end Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling Ursa skin rugs!" Nora wrapped up her story, crossing her arms with a satisfied smile.

Ren just dropped his head and let out a sigh,"She's been having this reoccurring dream for nearly a month now."

Pyrrha wasn't paying attention though, she was watching Jaune pick at his food,"Jaune, are you okay?"

Jaune almost didn't hear her, but he turned around,"Oh yeah, why?"

Ruby looked up from her plate,"It's just that you seem a little...not okay."

Jaune realized what was happening,"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look!" Jaune put on a nervous smile and gave a thumbs up; however, it was all ruined by his laugh that screamed "I'm lying."

Everyone's attention was directed away from Jaune when team CRDL crowded around a rabbit faunus. Ichigo gripped the edge of the table and Blake was looking at him suspiciously.

Pyrrha got Jaune's attention again,"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school."

Jaune tried to play it off,"Who, Cardin Winchester? Nah...He just likes to mess around, you know? Practical jokes!"

Ruby stole Ichigo's scowl and looked past Jaune at Cardin who was getting dangerously close to that girl,"He's a bully."

"Oh please," Jaune held up a finger,"Name one time he's 'Bullied' me."

Ichigo looked away from that girl and over at Jaune,"Really? There's the way he always knocks your books out of your hands when you pass him in the hall. He opened Crocea mors' sheath when you were trying to walk through the door to class, **this morning.** Or the day we got our rocket lockers, he shoved you in the nearest one and we had to send a search party for you…..Do I need to keep going?"

"I didn't land far from the school…"

Pyrrha put her hand over Jaune's,"Jaune, you know if you ever need help you can just ask."

Nora jumped out of her seat,"OOH! We'll break his legs!"

"Oww that hurts! Please stop."

Cardin just kept laughing,"I told you it was real!"

Ichigo broke off a piece of the wooden table with his hands and stood up,"Hold that thought Nora." Ichigo walked over to Cardin with a scowl apparent on his face.

Cardin tugged on the rabbit ear harder,"What's up carrot-top? Come to join in?"

Ichigo reached out and gently held her other ear between two fingers,"Those are…"

"Freaky right? I know exactly what you mean."

"Really soft." Ichigo grabbed the inside of Cardin's thumb and twisted it backwards causing him to let the girl go. Ichigo yanked his hand forward, jerking Cardin out of his seat, he grabbed the front of Cardin's chestplate and lifted him a foot off the ground as the rest of team CRDL ran for the hills. Ichigo looked at the girl with Cardin struggling to get away,"What's your name?"

She tried to look everywhere except at Cardin and Ichigo,"V-Velvet! Velvet Scarlatina!"

Ichigo stuck out his hand,"Nice to meet you! I'm Ichigo." When she shook his hand he grabbed hers and put it on Cardin's ear,"Here's your chance at revenge."

Velvet drew her hand back,"NO! I couldn't do that!"

Ichigo looked back at Cardin,"Hear that? She's willing to forgive you. Now apologize!"

Cardin spat in Ichigo's face,"I'll never apologize to an animal like her, Carrot-top!"

Ichigo stuck his tongue in his cheek and wiped his face with the back of his free hand. He then pulled Cardin's face inches away from his and whispered,"Call me carrot-top, one more time."

"Carr.." Ichigo slammed Cardin down on the table, snapping it in two and throwing food all over him.

Ichigo looked back at Velvet's shocked face,"Sorry you had to see that." He walked back to the table and right before he got there Blake stood up and slammed her book on the table,"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Ichigo cocked his head to the side,"What are you talking about? I just gave Cardin what was coming to him!"

Blake looked like she had seen a ghost,"You're just like Adam!"

After saying that Blake took off running out of the cafeteria and Ichigo sat back down and put his head on the table,"Why is it I can't go two days without getting on someone's bad side?"

"Maybe it's your charming personality?" Yang rubbed the back of his head,"Go talk to her. It worked with Weiss."

Ichigo picked his head up,"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am!" Yang punched him on the arm.

Ichigo rubbed the new sore spot,"Oww. What the hell?"

Jaune cleared his throat,"Hey Ichigo?"

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow,"Yeah? What is it?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head nervously,"How'd you ever get so strong?"

Ichigo just laughed,"Running for my life and picking fights I can't win."

Jaune smiled,"Guess I'm on the right track then!"

"Yeah," Ichigo stood up to walk away,"See you later."

 **In team RWBIY's dorm**

Blake sat on her bed hugging Yang's dog pillow and trying not to cry.

'I'm so stupid. Everyone I meet is like this. That asshole Ichigo, beating the shit out of that asshole Cardin.'

Her thoughts were cut off by the door opening. Her she wiped the tears from her eyes to see Ichigo standing there. He walked over and sat on Weiss' bed,"Care to tell me what this is about?"

"..."

"Don't want to talk?" She just stared at him with her amber eyes. "Fine. If you don't want to talk, then I will." Ichigo crossed his arms and looked her right in the eye,"I'm not sure what this is about, or who this Adam guy is, but I think it might have something to do with those ears you're hiding from everyone."

She gasped and opened her mouth to say something but Ichigo cut her off,"How did I know?" She just nodded,"I've done a lot of sword fighting over the years with people who swing faster than you can see. I learned that you can see everything you need to know by looking at them instead of the sword." He pointed to her bow,"When you get mad that thing starts twitching. It took me meeting Velvet to figure out what was underneath it."

She reached up and pulled the bow off her cat ears and blushed madly,"I bet you hate me now."

Ichigo sat down next to her on the bed,"Not even a little bit." He reached up but hesitated,"May I?"

She bent her head down and he stoked her ears gently,"So, who is this Adam person?"

She was lost in the pleasurable sensation,"He was my old partner." She looked up with sad eyes,"I thought I knew him, I thought I liked him even. But things changed…"

"How so?"

"We were members of the White Fang. Our assignment was to rob a Schnee Dust train. Don't tell Weiss!" Ichigo just locked his lips with an imaginary key and threw it away,"We had all but cleared the train when Adam said we should set the charges. He didn't care about the people on board, he was gonna let them die."

Ichigo just looked at her, genuinely confused,"So how am I like him?"

Blake snapped out of her haze and slapped his hand away,"Because of the way you treat others! You embarrassed Ms. Goodwitch in front of her entire class! You threatened to kill Cardin, and then beat the crap out of him!" She looked away from him down at the ground,"You two are just alike."

"So that's what this is all about." Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder,"Listen, I hope you don't hate me, but I'm not gonna apologize for what I did."

"So you don't even feel sorry?!"

"Nope. Everything I did was what I was used to doing back home. Captain Soi-fon hated my guts, so me and Yoruichi took every opportunity to mess with her. Ms. Goodwitch is the same way."

"I still don't think that's right." She looked back at him,"What about Cardin?"

"I would've just ignored Cardin if he kept messing with me or Jaune. Jaune needs to learn how to stand on his own two feet; if I beat up every bully that looked at him wrong, then he'd never get stronger. But I couldn't stand for him talking about you and the others, and I wasn't lying when I threatened him either. I fight to kill, not to play."

"Why are we even having this conversation if you are never going to change?"

"Because I'm trying to show you that I don't need to change. I scared Cardin and put a little cut on his neck, but I doubt he's gonna die." Ichigo reached up and started stroking her ears again,"When he started picking on Velvet I saw someone I knew a long time ago."

Blake leaned over and put her head in Ichigo's lap,"Who?"

"His name was Chad, or Yasutora Sado, he was a big guy," Ichigo stopped petting her to hold his hands way above his head,"Really big! Anyway, he was strong too, but he would never fight for himself. Velvet could've wiped the floor with Cardin if she wanted to, but she didn't."

"So?"

"I remembered my deal with Chad. If I would fight to protect what he held dear, he would do the same for me." Ichigo ran his fingers through her hair and she let out a small purr,"We fought like that for many years; beating up street thugs or arrancar, it didn't matter who we were up against, he always had my back."

"And you saw him in Velvet?"

"Yeah. Call it nostalgia, but I wasn't fighting for her, I was fighting for Chad." Ichigo looked down at her pretty face,"Still think I'm a cold hearted killer?"

She looked back up at him,"Not even a little bit."

"I see you two are having fun!" The pair looked over to see Yang and the others standing in the doorway.

Ruby looked at Blake and Ichigo, who were both redder than her hair,"You two are adorable!"

Weiss was only looking at Blake,"You're a faunus!"

Blake held on to the front of Ichigo's shirt and tried to hide her face. Ichigo knew she was scared and tried to help,"Is that a problem Weiss?" Weiss crossed her arms and opened her mouth to say something but Ichigo cut her off,"After all you aren't a racist like Cardin, so her being a faunus shouldn't be a problem."

Weiss tried to sputter out an answer,"I-I don't care if she's a faunus or a human! As long as she isn't working for the White Fang!"

Ichigo just looked down at Blake and she shook her head,"No. I don't work with them."

"Good." She turned away from the two and let out a gasp,"Who messed up my sheets?!"

Ichigo just laughed and pushed Blake out of his lap,"Sorry about that. Did I miss anything while I was gone."

Yang put her pillow back on the top bunk,"Pyrrha took Jaune away somewhere private and no one knows why," She looked over at Blake who was still had a blush plastered all over her face,"but it looks like we missed something ourselves. Are you two together now?"

Ichigo stopped fixing Weiss' bed and stuttered,"W-wait I-I-I d-did d-didn't!"

Yang just laughed,"You are so easy to mess with." She walked over and slapped him on the back,"The way I see it, we already sleep together and you've seen me half naked so I have dibs anyway."

"Nope! I can't put up with this!" Ichigo just ran out of the room leaving behind Yang who was howling with laughter.

Ruby threw Weiss' pillow at her sister,"Look what you did. Now I gotta go talk to him." Ruby ran out of the room in a flash of rose petals.

 **On the roof**

Ruby opened the door to the roof and saw Ichigo sitting on the edge of the building. She walked over and took a seat next to him,"Are you alright?"

He just looked over at her and smiled,"I'm fine. Just needed some space,"He poked her shoulder,"from your sister."

"I can't control her!"

"I know." He looked back out over Beacon.

She looked at his face and could tell something was off,"What's bugging you?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head and stared off into the distance,"Well, I don't know if it's really bugging me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just me being here. When I found out what had happened I tried to think of a way to get back to my own time." He let out a sigh,"I realized that was impossible and I tried to move on and forget; but the more I got to know you and everyone else, the more I was reminded of my old life."

"Thank you."

Ichigo looked back over at her confused,"For what?"

She smiled,"This team wouldn't be here without you."

"How so?"

"Well, you helped Weiss warm up to everyone else. You gave Yang someone to care for, and Blake would've never trusted us with her secret on her own. Plus you taught me how to be a better leader, even if you didn't mean to."

"I guess I did. I'm just glad we met." Ichigo's face changed from a happy one to one of shock,"Run."

"Ichigo what's wrong? Are you okay?" Ichigo grabbed her shoulders and pushed her toward the door.

"Run! Now!"

"Ichigo, I don't understand!" Then she looked behind him and saw that a black tear had opened up in the sky, standing right in the middle was a figure clad in white.

"I SAID RUN!"

* * *

 **I'm 90% sure you guys can figure out who this person is, if you can't, go back and read chapter one. You'll figure it out. Huge credit goes to IchiFell who makes sure my bad grammar and ADHD are kept in check. I'm not gonna set the chapter releases to any kind of schedule because stuff happens. That being said I will always release them ASAP. This one was a bit longer than chapters 3 &4\. R&R and see you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5 was the most controversial chapter I have ever written. Some people liked it and some hated it. I will admit that it was not my best work and I was trying to push too many ideas into one chapter. I'm not going to change it, I stand by everything I wrote and if you have questions as to why I wrote something send me a question and I will answer it the best I can. All my chapters are my personal ideas and writing. IchiFell does not do anything except correct sentence structure and grammar, my work does not reflect him in any way; therefore, do not judge him and his writing ability based on it. I'm sorry some of you didn't like it and I will try harder from now on. I did get angry and delete a guest's review from the list, I was going to do the same to the others who were judging IchiFell; however, I realized that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and whether or not you voice it is up to you. Sorry about that random guest.**

* * *

 **Now, on to things pertaining to the story.**

 _ **A LOT**_ **of people thought the white figure was Aizen. I blatantly told you that Aizen was dead in chapter 3. Go read chapter 1 and you will find out who the mystery figure is.**

 **Some people thought that this will be a Harem story…..maybe. I'm leaving that question open for a reason.**

 **Remember this is the first story I've written that has done well and enjoy.**

* * *

As Ichigo watched Ruby disappear through the doorway and turned to jump off the edge of the roof, his mind was racing a million miles a minute.

'What the hell is he doing here? Shouldn't he be dead like the others? What does he want?'

Ichigo landed on the ground with a _crack,_ shattering the concrete walkway. Ulquiorra slowly walked down on platforms of reishi until he was standing face to face with Ichigo.

"I don't believe my eyes." Ulquiorra hadn't changed much over the years, his hair was much longer, coming down to his shoulders, he still wore the same white, arrancar style outfit. He seemed a bit taller, and that served to make him all the more intimidating.

All Ichigo's instincts were telling him to draw Zangetsu and cut Ulquiorra down, but he knew better. All trying to cut him would do is piss him off. "Why are you here? The war ended a long time ago and Aizen's gone."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly,"I'm here," He raised a hand and pointed his finger towards Ichigo's heart,"for you."

Ichigo was sweating his ass off. His worst nightmare was coming true and all he could do was stand there. He snapped out of his fear when Ozpin walked next to him and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Ozpin looked at Ulquiorra,"How is it that you came through a garganta? It was my understanding that Hueco Mundo had," Ozin paused, not really sure how to finish his sentence without angering this stranger,"seen better days."

Ulquiorra looked away from Ichigo to Ozpin,"Hueco Mundo is gone. Las Noches, was a construct of Hogyoku, and exists in it's own Pseudo-space; therefore, it was spared when the dimensions collapsed."

Ozpin cocked his head to the side knowing that this was going to start a fight,"I'm sorry to inform you, but you are currently trespassing on Beacon property,"Ozpin gripped the second handle on his cane and drew his sword,"I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Ulquiorra didn't even acknowledge the man's sword,"I'm sorry, but you,"Ulquiorra drew his zanpakuto,"are trash."

"BANKAI!"

Ozpin and Ulquiorra's stare down was interrupted when Ichigo stood between the two, locking swords with Ulquiorra.

"Ichigo, stand down! As headmaster, it is my duty to protect the students, including you."

Ichigo never looked away from the Espada's cold eyes,"Don't fool yourself. What you're holding is no zanpakuto. It's as useful as a paperweight against him."He wrapped his blade in a black getsuga and pushed Ulquiorra a few feet back,"I still don't understand why you're here. You said that you came for me, what does that mean?" Unknown to Ichigo, the rest of team RWBIY and team JNPR had ran up behind Ozpin.

"You defy all logic. I killed you, and you were revived as a hollow. I killed you a second time, and here you stand in the exact condition I left you."

Yang yelled at Ulquiorra and shook her fist,"What's your point?"

Ichigo's eyes widened and he whipped around to come face to face with all his friends and a few teachers,"You aren't supposed to be here! I told you to run!"

Ulquiorra's cold eyes gazed right into Yang's fiery ones, sending shivers down her spine. "To answer your question, trash, I'm curious. I've never had any real emotions, but for the past 500 years I've had an insatiable curiosity regarding Kurosaki. This will provide me with an answer to my question. 'If I kill him again, then what will happen?'"

Ichigo's whole body relaxed as he turned to face Ulquiorra,"So if I were dead, there would be no reason for you to be here." Ichigo flashed away and reappeared with the pistol of Gambol Shroud pressed against his temple.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened,"I see. I expected you to scream in defiance and fight me, but by removing yourself from the equation you protect your friends from me."

"That's the idea."

Pyrrha tried to pull the gun from his hand with her polarity but his grip was too strong. Weiss eyes began tearing up as she tried pleading with him,"Ichigo, please don't do this. You can beat him."

"I can't take that chance."

 _BANG_

A small trickle of blood ran down the side of Ichigo's face and his cheek twitched with anger,"WHAT THE HELL BLAKE?!" He threw the gun back at her and picked the small black object out of his skin,"Rubber bullets!"

Yang grabbed the front of his jacket and punched him in the face with tears in her eyes,"You could've died and you ask what the hell's wrong with her! You bastard!" She went to punch him again but Ulquiorra had his sword at her neck.

"It seems that your attempt has failed Kurosaki. Now forget this trash and fight me."

 **BGM-I may fall RWBY**

"You want a rematch!" Ichigo swung his sword up and fired a wordless getsuga driving Ulquiorra away from Yang,"Fine!"

Ichigo flash stepped after him after him, sending a flurry of strikes at any opening he could find. Every time their swords clashed, a shockwave exploded as they moved on to a different area.

Yang wiped the tears away and turned to her sister,"Can you see what's happening?"

Ruby's head was dating back and forth with wide eyes,"No, not at all! I've never seen someone move so fast before!" Weiss was shaking and looking up at the sky toward the explosions. Ruby walked over to her,"Weiss?" She didn't answer so Ruby grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly,"WEISS!"

Her voice came out in a whisper and she looked into Ruby's silver eyes,"How could he do it?"

"Do what?" The worry was evident in her voice and Ruby tightened her grip on Weiss shoulder's.

"We've known him for only a few days, and yet he was more than willing to put a bullet in his skull to keep us safe."

"I don't know." Ruby looked down at her feet and let go of Weiss.

Weiss looked back up to the sky,"What kind of a person could do that?"

Blake spoke up,"A hero. Just like the fairy tales." She gripped Gambol Shroud so hard her knuckles turned white,"He'll do this. I know it."

Yang looked behind them to see that nearly the entire school had gathered to watch the fight,"Guys. We have an audience."

Ichigo and Ulquiorra stopped moving and stood there swords locked, Ulquiorra looked away from him, uninterested,"It seems that you have become stagnant;however, I have had 500 years to improve." To emphasize his point he pushed Ichigo off him and sent him flying, Ichigo flew in the opposite direction tumbling and creating craters where he landed until he came to a stop right at Ms. Goodwitch's feet.

 **End music**

Goodwitch looked down at him as he tried to get up and collapsed again,"Silly boy. Trying to bear the weight of the world by yourself when the rest of us are here." She raised her riding crop and fired a stream of purple energy from it. The attack hit Ulquiorra in the face, creating a small cut on his cheek which healed instantly.

Ulquiorra raised a finger and pointed right at her,"You are trash." A small, green ball of energy appeared at his fingertip and exploded outward rushing toward the crowd.

'Time to see if this still works.'

Ichigo put his hand over his face and it was covered in black reishi, he pulled away and a white mask with two red lines running down it appeared on his face.

" **GETSUGA TENSHOU!"** He swung his sword down and a massive wave of black energy rushed out to meet the green cero. It barely did anything except slow the green blast down, and upon seeing this Ichigo rushed forward and tried to stop it with his sword, only to be he was being pushed back at an alarming pace. Right before he was pushed into the crowd, he cast one look back and yelled, slashing through the rest of the cero. He collapsed onto one knee, stabbing Tensa Zangetsu into the ground and breathing heavily. Ms. Goodwitch rushed to his side and placed a hand on his back,"What were you thinking?"

He just chuckled and looked back up to her, only a small fragment was left of his mask around a yellow eye,"See Glynda, I'm good for something." He was going to laugh at his own joke, but he coughed up some blood and the rest of his mask fell and shattered on the ground.

A girl with brown hair wearing a tall pair of heels transformed her purse into a gatling gun,"Let's give him a hand!" Ichigo heard roughly five million gun cocks in the span of two seconds and looked back to see that all of Beacon had become a firing squad. "Light him up!" The sound of gunfire was deafening, as bullets displaced the air, and Ulquiorra just walked through it like it was an early morning fog. When the firing stopped he was standing in front of Ichigo. Ichigo went to slash at his neck but Ulquiorra slapped him away causing him to drop Tensa Zangetsu and go flying. When he stopped rolling Ulquiorra appeared over him and planted a foot on the back of his head, driving it into the concrete.

"Now do you see the difference between you and I? You could train for years and never reach my level." Ulquiorra pointed a finger at him,"I am satisfied. Whether or not you rise no longer matters," He charged another Cero Oscuras,"I will simply kill you again."

Ruby couldn't sit still so she made a break for Ichigo's sword, When she picked it up a deep voice spoke to her,"You must protect him. Use our strength." She was bathed in a flood of blue aura and her arms seemed to move of their own accord. She raised the sword high above her head and yelled,"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Ulquiorra turned his head to see the massive, blue and red Getsuga racing towards him. He moved his arm and fired his cero to block it. When the dust settled he laid eyes on Ruby who was on the ground trying to catch her breath. He flashed away from Ichigo and appeared before her, he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her to his height,"Why is it the trash insist on interrupting me?"

Ichigo saw Ruby fighting to escape Ulquiorra's grip and his spiritual pressure skyrocketed. There was a massive weight pressing down on everyone causing Ulquiorra to falter as Ichigo shouted,"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Ulquiorra looked right in time for Ichigo's fist to collide with his face, creating a shockwave that sent all three in different directions.

Ichigo's back hit the ground. _Hard._ He nearly had a heart attack when Zangetsu landed in the ground next to his face.

Ulquiorra stood up from the ground, looking back and forth from Ruby and Ichigo,"Underestimating the power of this 'Heart' you humans posses was a lesson I should've learned a long time ago." He began walking toward Ruby who was scrambling to get away,"However you have rekindled my curiosity. The harder I push you, the harder you push back. So Kurosaki," Ulquiorra grabbed Ruby by the waist and threw her over his shoulder,"how hard can you push?"

Ichigo was on his feet and running toward Ulquiorra, seeing as that he didn't have enough energy left to flash step. Ulquiorra just turned and opened a garganta; Ichigo was scrambling to make it in time, and right as his fingertips reached Ruby's outstretched hand, the garganta closed leaving an imprint of Ruby's terrified face on his mind.

Ichigo fell to his knees and had to prop himself against the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu. He couldn't hold back the sadness and frustration that cut through his heart like a knife as he shouted out his pain and sorrow. The tears flowed freely as Ichigo broke down for all of Beacon to see. "Damnit!" He punched the ground making the ground crack and shatter,"Why am I so fucking helpless?"

Yang knelt down down next to him and it was evident that she was crying too,"It's not your fault Ichigo. No one could've beaten that monster."

Ichigo stopped crying and wiped his eyes,"A monster is just what we need." Ichigo sat with his legs crossed and Tensa Zangetsu across his lap, he then looked up at Yang,"I swear on my life. I'll get her back." He closed his eyes and slipped off into his inner world.

"Ichigo? Are you okay?" Yang went to touch him but Blake grabbed her hand.

"Don't touch him. I think he's meditating." She looked down at him with fire in her eyes,"As to why, I don't know."

Weiss walked up behind the two,"Didn't he mention something about his sword talking? Maybe that's it?"

Yang just took a few steps back and rubbed her arm nervously,"No. He said we needed a monster. That person was the one from his nightmares, which means that Ichigo is going after the one thing he knows can beat him."

Weiss looked at what was left of the team, they had no leader, Ichigo was beaten, Blake was pissed, Yang had lost her fire, and she was completely lost,"What do we do now?"

Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud and turned away from them,"There's nothing we can do."

Yang's eyes lit up,"Maybe not! I'm going to talk to Ms. Goodwitch." She then ran off.

This left Weiss was alone, the crowd had dispersed after Ruby was kidnapped, and the only company she had was Ichigo. She noticed a trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth and down his chin, so Weiss pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped it from his face. Weiss continued to clean off the sweat and dirt that he had gathered,"I'm not going anywhere. You would do the same for me, wouldn't you, Ichigo?"

 **Ichigo's inner world**

Ichigo opened his eyes to find himself floating underwater with a small town below him.

"Hello Ichigo."

Ichigo turned around to come face to face with a younger form of Zangetsu. "You know why I'm here."

Zangetsu stared off into the distance,"You desire more power. I can teach you, but it won't be enough."

"That's why I'm not here to talk to you."

" **Is that so?"**

Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see his inner hollow had changed, his white hair came down to his legs and his mask was pitch black with two white stripes and horns,"You're who I'm here for."

" **Really? You're the king and you're asking me for power? Ha! You're pathetic."**

Ichigo rushed toward him and slashed straight for his neck,"I'm not asking!"

 **BGM-Stand up be strong Bleach**

Ichigo threw his hollow toward the town below and raced after him. When they crossed swords again his hollow just smiled wickedly at him, **"You really mean business! But you can never gain that power!"**

"Why not?!" Ichigo kept on the offensive, launching a wordless getsuga at him.

The hollow just blew it away with his own getsuga and dashed forward clashing with Ichigo again, **"Because you don't even know who you're fighting! To gain that power you have to fully accept me into your soul!"**

"The show me who you are!" Ichigo pushed him down and kicked him in the side sending him rolling,"I'll do anything! I made a promise!"

"Then you must see us for who we are Ichigo." Zangetsu floated down to Ichigo's white counterpart and helped him off the ground. Then they both disintegrated into blue flecks of light and came together to form a young man wearing a white trenchcoat with black trimmings. He had part of a hollow mask covering the left side of his hair, his right eye was an deep ocean blue and his left was black and yellow. "I am Tensa Zangetsu."

"I need the resurreccion. It was the only thing that could hold a candle to Ulquiorra."

Tensa Zangetsu dashed forward and tried to take his head off,"I don't care."

Ichigo almost didn't react in time, but he bent backwards under his Zanpakuto's blade,"What?"

Tensa Zangetsu went in for the kill again but Ichigo parried his blade and held him at bay. "What you want to protect and what I want to protect are not the same," He swung his sword and pushed Ichigo several feet back,"I won't help you."

Ichigo clenched his fist and yelled back at him,"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Tensa Zangetsu couldn't look him in the eye,"It means exactly what I said."

"Then why the hell did you give me your powers in the first place?! I thought you wanted to help me!" Tensa Zangetsu rushed after Ichigo again but Ichigo stood his ground and locked swords with Tensa Zangetsu.

 **Music End**

 **At beacon**

Blake put a hand on Weiss' shoulder and shook her awake,"Weiss. Weiss, wake up. It's morning."

"Huh, wha?" Weiss got off of the comfy shoulder she was leaning on and looked up at Blake,"How long has it been?"

"Two days now. I brought you breakfast." Blake sat the tray of food down and looked at Ichigo,"He's bleeding again and his hair is getting longer."

"Oh no." Weiss pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the dry blood off of Ichigo's face.

"I wonder what he's doing in there." Blake knelt down in front of him and swept some of his orange hair out of his face.

"I don't know, but whatever it is it's making his aura go crazy." Right on cue Ichigo's black energy flared out of his left arm and dissipated into the air.

"You have to eat." Blake handed her a banana and a glass of milk,"Odds are you have a long day of watching a statue."

"Weiss took a sip from the glass and cast a sad glance back at Ichigo. She tried to change the subject,"Do you know what Yang's been doing?"

Blake shook her head,"No. When she comes back into the room, she collapses onto her bed. She'll eat breakfast and leave again with Ms. Goodwitch in the morning. They've cancelled classes until Ruby is found, but Ozpin refuses to send out anyone to find her and the press hasn't been notified."

"Ichigo will get her back. He promised, after all."

"I thought so too, but now I'm not sure." Blake looked down at the ground.

Weiss looked at the faunus with disgust,"I don't believe you! You know how stubborn he is. If he says he'll do it, then he's going to do it no matter what anyone tells him!"

Blake looked back at her,"Weiss, you just don't understand. I'm angry and scared and I just want things to be right again. You don't know what it's like in that room. It feels so empty, like someone sucked all the life out of it." She shook her head,"How can you still believe?"

Weiss dabbed away the blood at the corner of his mouth,"I still believe in him because it's the only thing I can do."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember a few days ago when Ichigo protected me from the Boarbatusk? He said he did it because he thought I was helpless, and now we are. I know he'll do it again, it's just how Ichigo is."

Blake looked from Weiss to Ichigo and she felt something that had been missing from her heart for the past two days. Hope. "You're right."

"I am?" Weiss looked back at her in shock that changed to smugness,"Of course I am!"

"I'll watch him for now. You go take a shower and change clothes, you look awful."

"Thanks, call me if he wakes up while I'm gone." Weiss stood up with her food and headed towards the dorms.

Blake looked at Ichigo and whispered,"Come back soon."

 **In Ichigo's inner world**

'How long have I been here? I can't keep doing this, I have to save Ruby!'

Ichigo was pushed back again and he stopped to catch his breath. His clothes were cut to ribbons and he was bleeding in several places his hair had grown long and he had to fight with it in his eyes,"Why won't you answer me anymore?" Tensa Zangetsu just stared off in the distance with his sad eyes.

'What's that look for? Doesn't he want to fight? Wait. What was it that white bastard said?'

" **Because you don't even know you're fighting! To gain that power you have to fully accept me into your soul!"**

'Accept him…'

Tensa Zangetsu rocketed forward, holding out his sword like a spear. As he drew closer the world seemed to move in slow motion. Ichigo dropped his arms and let his sword slip from his grasp. His Zanpakuto's eyes widened as the sword ran him through, yet Ichigo didn't feel any pain as he looked down at Tensa Zangetsu's face.

"You've done it Ichigo. You stopped fighting and accepted me into yourself. In doing this, you will gain the power you seek and something more."

"You still haven't answered me. Why do you give me your power when you don't believe in what I'm fighting for?"

Tensa Zangetsu looked down at the sword through Ichigo's chest,"Just like you, I fight to protect, but we do not the fight to protect the same thing," he looked back up into Ichigo's brown eyes,"I want to protect you Ichigo!"

Ichigo was shocked,"Me?"

"I always wanted to keep you safe. That is why I fought by your side all this time, teaching you and giving you my power." His face turned sad again,"But I will give that up if it means you can achieve your dreams."

Ichigo held onto Tensa Zangetsu's hands,"Thank you. Zangetsu." Ichigo pulled the sword closer to him as the world faded away and reality came rushing back to him.

 **In Beacon**

"Weiss! Get Yang and come out here quick!"

Weiss voice came from Blake's scroll,"What's happening? What's that sound?"

"Just get Yang quick!" Blake hung up her scroll and her ears twitched impatiently under her bow. It took all of ten seconds for Yang and Weiss to come running out on a path of white glyphs.

Yang looked over to where Ichigo had been sitting,"Oh. My. God." Where Ichigo once had sat there was a literal tornado of black energy swirling up to the dark skies.

Weiss looked over at Blake,"What happened?!"

Blake was astonished,"I don't know! His aura went crazy and I think he exploded, then this happened!"

Ozpin walked up to them, sipping his mug of coffee a if everything was perfectly normal,"Good morning girls."

Weiss turned to him,"Why are you so calm? Is this a good thing?"

Ozpin took another sip off his coffee,"A very good thing. Ichigo is awake."

Yang looked back to the tornado in astonishment,"That's Ichigo?!"

A flash of lightning tore open the sky and ripped down right through the black hurricane all the way to the ground. The sky cleared and the winds came to a halt. Everything was still and then Ichigo opened his eyes.

He was taller and his hair was longer. His attire had changed from his usual bankai jacket, the sleeve was gone and a chain was tattooed onto his skin that seemed to wind down his arm toward a black glove connected to his sword.

Weiss had to look up to see his face, and she was wearing heels,"Is that really you Ichigo?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Yang looked him over gave him a wolf whistle,"You changed for the better, and I like that glove you're wearing."

"That's my arm, Yang." He looked around and saw that all the damage to the landscape had been repaired,"How long have I been out?"

Ozpin chuckled slightly as Yang poked Ichigo's arm,"Three days."

"It felt like months to me." He looked down at Yang who was still playing with his arm,"Yes Yang. I can feel that."

Yang stepped backward with her arms crossed behind her,"Oh! Sorry."

"Well, no reason in waiting any longer. I'm off." Ichigo slashed at the air, causing a black tear to open.

Yang grabbed onto his arm,"Wait!"

He turned around to look at her,"What is it?" Yang stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Ichigo's face lit up like a strawberry and he glared at her,"What was that for?!" Ichigo's eyes widened as a burning sensation started in his lips and moved down to his chest, before spreading out through his entire body. He looked down to see himself covered in a golden glow.

As it slowly faded away Yang stepped back nervously,"It took me three days to learn that. It wasn't easy so try not to waste it."

"Thanks." Ichigo turned back to the garganta,"Time to keep my promise." As he walked through the portal it closed behind him, and Yang had a big, goofy grin on her face.

Weiss looked at her suspiciously,"What are you so happy about? He hasn't even brought your sister back yet."

Yang looked back over at her teammates,"That works with any kind of physical contact. I got a free kiss."

Weiss looked away, blushing madly,"Behave."

 **With Ichigo**

Ichigo stepped out of the garganta onto the roof of Las Noches. He looked out into the darkness that used to be Hueco Mundo and realized that that this castle was all that was left.

"Hello Kurosaki."

Ichigo turned around to see Ulquiorra standing there. Ichigo closed his eyes and focused in on Ruby's aura, and 'saw' that she was below in the castle dungeon where they had held Orihime.

'That's good. She'll be safe from all the fighting.'

"I see you have changed Ichigo. You've grown much stronger."

"I don't want to fight you. It's not worth it. I'll just take her and go home."

"I cannot allow that. If you leave without fighting first, then I will kill everyone you hold dear."

Ichigo let out a sigh,"That's what I thought." Ichigo flash stepped forward and appeared right in front of Ulquiorra, swinging his sword sideways in an attempt to bisect the arrancar. Ulquiorra drew his sword in time to stop it, but he was knocked back through one of the pillars that decorated the landscape.

"You are incredible, Kurosaki. In just three days, you've closed a gap it took me 500 years to create." Ulquiorra looked down at the notch that was taken out of his sword,"Underestimating you is a mistake I cannot seem to escape. Imprison: Murcielago." There was a burst of green and black energy that reached out into the sky and came back down in an acid rain.

"You're pulling out all the stops right out of the gate. What's wrong Ulquiorra, are you scared?"

"I do not know what fear is." Ulquiorra flew forward, dashing straight for Ichigo.

"Then let me teach you!" Ichigo declared as he flash stepped to meet the demon bat head on.

 **In the dungeon**

Ruby was laying on her bed, sound asleep when a loud crashing noise woke her up,"Ulquiorra?" She looked toward the door that Ulquiorra usually walked in carrying some food and tea,"Is that you?" She got out of bed and looked out the one window in the room to see green drops of rain and a few seconds later she heard a loud boom that shook the entire castle.

'Ichigo! He came to save me!'

She grabbed Crescent Rose and her cape from her dirty set of clothes and she put her cape on over the white and black clothes that Ulquiorra had given her to wear. Ulquiorra had allowed her to keep Crescent Rose because he thought it was no threat to him. She unfolded the sniper-scythe and cut down the door. She went to put away her weapon and jumped when she heard it hit the floor,"Oh! Sorry sweetheart. I forgot I'm not wearing my belt." Ruby picked up the neglected weapon and got the belt and ammo clip from her pile and put it on with a _click_ , she put away her scythe and headed for the open doorway,"Much better." When she walked through the door the entire castle shook, causing her to fall onto the wall across the hallway. Dust and rubble began to rain down from the ceiling as she stumbled along the halls, trying to find an exit. She found a staircase and started her ascent. All the while it sounded like someone had waged war on hell, the loud booms would've drowned out thunder. The staircase seemed to stretch on forever and even with her semblance she had been running a long time. She wasn't really watching where she was running and let out a squeak when her head hit something hard. "Owww." She looked up to see she had run into the hatch to the roof. She unlocked it and slowly opened it, her eyes widened when she saw what had been making all the noise.

 **BGM-Monster, Skillet**

Ichigo was pounding the hell out of Ulquiorra, even as both parties were injured badly, Ichigo was bleeding like a stuck pig from several places and Ulquiorra was missing an arm though it quickly regrew. Ulquiorra pushed Ichigo off with his green lance,"I grow tired of you Kurosaki. Let's end this." Ulquiorra was surrounded in green and black energy,"Resurrección: Segunda Etapa." Ulquiorra unfurled his giant wings to reveal his new form,"I'm sure you remember this."

Ichigo flinched for a moment when images of his death flashed through his mind. Ruby saw the look on his face and tried to encourage him,"Don't be scared Ichigo! You can do it!"

A look of shock crossed his face when he turned and saw her head poking out of the castle's roof.

'Shit! I can't afford to hold back anymore!'

"Ruby, get back inside! Things are about to turn ugly!" Ichigo turned back to Ulquiorra,"Kill on instinct: Del Toro!" Ichigo's black fiery energy turned white and liquid and flowed over his body. It started down at his feet transforming them into talons, it swirled up further, replacing his shihakusho with a white, chiseled chest. His eyes turned black and yellow and his voice came out slightly distorted,"This is only the second time I've done this and I gotta say. It feels good." He reached over with his left arm and touched his shoulder, he threw up his arm and a white mask formed. **"Let's go!"**

Ruby gasped when she saw what he had turned into. She watched him rush forward and with one swing at Ulquiorra he tore apart the roof causing a massive hole to open up, exposing the vastness of Las Noches. Ulquiorra jumped back and fired a cero directly at Ichigo, yet he bent over and fired back one of his own. Ichigo's red cero tore right through Ulquiorra's green one and blew the arrancar sky high. Ulquiorra tried to regain his balance and Ichigo appeared behind him with his sword raised. **"Getsuga Tenshou!"** Ulquiorra plummeted back down into Las Noches, the massive wave of black and red energy broke right through the floor and pushed Ulquiorra out into the nothingness.

Ruby felt the stairs crumble underneath her, but before fell Ichigo grabbed her arm and pulled her up. She looked up into his piercing, yellow eyes,"Is that really you?"

" **It's not safe for you to be here anymore. You have to leave."** He raised his sword to open a garganta but Ulquiorra flew over the edge of the castle and right at them. Ichigo scooped up Ruby in one arm and used sonido to fly in the opposite direction. Ichigo's sword met Ulquiorra's lance and Ruby had to fight to not pass out from being sandwiched between the two monstrous energies. Ichigo launched another getsuga but Ulquiorra dodged and the blast tore through Las Noches. The roof began to crumble around them when Ulquiorra threw his Lanza Del Relampago right at them. Ichigo surrounded Ruby with his body and prepared for the pain that never came. He looked and there was a dull, golden glow surrounding him, **"Thank you, Yang Xiao Long!"** Ulquiorra went to charge another but Ichigo rushed forward, catching him off guard. Ichigo chopped off his arm and kicked him out into nowhere. The half made lance exploded in a burst of green light and for once Ulquiorra didn't get right back up for quite some time. Ichigo looked down at Ruby, **"Time to get you home."**

Ichigo slashed at the air and created a new garganta; he then walked through calmly with Ruby in his arms knowing the storm had passed.

 **Music end**

 **At beacon**

Ozpin was watching Weiss and Yang fight over Ichigo while Blake stood still as a statue, staring at the place where Ichigo had left.

'That boy has got his work cut out for him.'

A black line appeared in front of them and Blake let out a gasp,"Guys cut it out, He's back!"

The black line widened and opened to reveal a hollowfied Ichigo holding Ruby in his arm. Yang dashed forward and punched Ichigo square in the face with Ember Celica, causing his head to snap back and the white mask to shatter. Ichigo cracked his neck loudly and looked down at her,"I get that I looked different, but did ya have to hit me?"

"Sorry." She looked away from Ichigo's yellow eyes and to the little bundle of red he was holding,"Ruby!"

"Yang!" Ruby jumped out of Ichigo's arms and right into Yang's open ones.

Yang was crushing her sister with a death hug and Ruby didn't seem to care,"Oh! Little sis, I missed you so much!"Yang held her sister at arms length and looked her up and down,"That monster didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Pshh. What? Ulquiorra wouldn't hurt me. I'm the best company he's had in 500 years. He even gave me some cool clothes. Look!" Ruby moved her cape out of the way to show off her arrancar style, black and white clothes,"But white isn't really my colour."

Weiss pulled Ruby into a hug,"Nonsense! That looks fabulous on you!"

Weiss let go and Blake took her place,"I'm just glad you're safe."

"Me too," Ichigo raised a fist and thumped his chest, causing the white shell to break and crumble away. When he looked down he noticed the scar right in the center on his chest was gone,"I guess I can sleep easy now." Just then his stomach growled loudly. Ichigo's shoulders slumped and he let out a tired sigh,"God, I just realized I haven't eaten in three days."

Ruby grabbed his hand and led him toward the cafeteria,"I need some cookies! I've lived off of tea and bread that Ulquiorra brought me while I was gone." Everyone laughed, including Ozpin, and the mended team RWBIY headed off together.

 **In the remains of Las Noches**

Ulquiorra was lying on a floating piece of rock, thinking about his defeat at the hands of Ichigo,"I cannot let it end this way."

* * *

 **This took a lot longer to write then it should have, but I got it done. Does anyone know what CFVY stands for? I've been told it means "Caffeine" or "Coffee." After someone wrote in the reviews that he was "Disappointed" in me, I realized how little you actually know about me. So if you want wrote out a question in the comments and I'll answer it. On a different note, I will begin a new story as requested by my friend, Yubel578, it will be called team LCKY (lucky). Until next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, I feel awkward. No one out of the 137 followers this story wanted to know anything about me. I swear I'm not mad, it's kinda funny. I'm always surprised when authors like Arkos Addict that I look up to leave nice things about my writing. I'm bringing back an OC in this chapter. This chapter will be slightly shorter than others, not by much. Enjoy.**

* * *

Ichigo was led into the packed cafeteria by Ruby where tons of students were waiting. When the trigger happy, brown haired girl from a few days ago saw them, she stood up and yelled across the room,"She's back! Kurosaki beat that bastard and brought Ruby home safe!" The entire cafeteria stood up and erupted in cheers and applause. Ruby turned as red as her hair and Ichigo just scowled, not wanting the extra attention. The girl walked up to Ichigo and lowered her sunglasses,"My name's Coco Adel. I've heard good things about you from Velvet. Taking on Cardin was one thing, but that white asshole was something else. Team CFVY will fight next to you any day."

Ichigo couldn't really be mad at her,"Thanks, I guess?"

Ichigo was walking away when Coco shouted back at him,"I'll take you shopping too! God knows you need help in that department!" Ichigo just rolled his eyes at the way she was laughing her ass off. He walked up to the lunch line and the crowd of kids that were getting food picked up their trays and moved out of the way.

'I can't believe this is happening. These idiots think I'm god or something.' Ichigo had to take a deep breath to calm himself and he grabbed a tray from the stack. Suddenly a blonde faunus girl sneaked up behind him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He turned around to look at her but she was already running back to her friends giggling like a maniac. Ichigo was visibly shaking with anger and Blake saw it,"Ichigo, are you okay?"

Ichigo had to switch between moving his tray and putting food on it because he only had one hand. His voice came out way more stressed than he intended,"I'm just _fine_."

Ruby put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a calming voice,"Are they bothering you? We can leave if you want."

Ichigo slumped his shoulders and let out a deep sigh,"No. I'll be fine."

As they stepped out of the line a boy ran up with a pen and a picture of Ichigo in his hand,"Can I have your autograph?!"

The vein on Ichigo's forehead ticked in frustration,"No."

The boy backed up slightly and his face turned apologetic,"Right! Sorry! You probably didn't want to talk to someone like me anyway, I totally understand!"

Ichigo looked like he was about to explode,"No! You can't have my autograph because I can't use one hand!" Ichigo pushed past him and tried to find a table to sit at when a group of students got up simultaneously freeing up an entire table. Ichigo couldn't stand it anymore so he lashed out at everyone,"Would you all just chill the fuck out! I don't expect special treatment for what I did! So leave me alone, _PLEASE!_ "

Silence fell over the cafeteria for all of three seconds, everyone was stunned by Ichigo's outburst, but then the talking resumed and people were staying a good distance away from Ichigo. He let out a breath and threw his tray down on the table,"Thank you." As team RWBIY sat down, team JNPR came walking up. Pyrrha chuckled at Ichigo and took a seat in front of him,"Welcome to the life of a celebrity."

Ichigo looked up at her,"I don't know how you do it."

"I found someone so socially awkward that people didn't want to be around them, more than they wanted to be around me."'

Jaune looked confused for a moment until the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning,"Hey!"

Pyrrha hid her smile behind a piece of bread,"I didn't name any names."

Ichigo smiled at them and looked down at his food. He picked up his spoon and was trying, and failing, to eat his soup. Everytime he would get it close to his mouth the noodles and chicken would fall off the spoon. After a few tries he dropped the spoon back into the bowl with a huff. Weiss looked at him and picked up the spoon, dipped it in the bowl, and tried to feed it to Ichigo. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow,"What do you think you're doing?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and glared at him,"Do you want the soup or not?"

"Fine, whatever." Ichigo leaned forward and Weiss put the spoon in his mouth.

Nora giggled and looked at them both with wide eyes,"You two make such a cute couple! Well, I'm not saying that you're together together or anything, but you should be!"

Ichigo pushed the bowl away and mumbled under his breath,"I hate soup." He picked up an apple and took a bite out of it.

Jaune looked over at Ichigo's blushing face and laughed,"I've been training with Pyrrha. I was wondering if you might wanna come watch?"

'Why does he want me there?' Ichigo looked back up at him,"Nah, I'll pass. You can have fun without me."

"Oh. Ok. Forget about it." Jaune looked away at the wall. Ichigo turned to see Weiss eating the cursed bowl of soup.

Weiss noticed the stare and pulled the spoon out of her mouth,"What?"

Ichigo looked at her with raised eyebrows,"You won't even drink after other people."

Weiss just looked away,"So, you weren't going to eat it, what does it matter?"

Ichigo looked back down at his tray of food,"I had my mouth on that spoon."

A deep red blush appeared on Weiss' face and she just continued eating. Suddenly Ruby dropped her food and rubbed her temples. She had the most intense look of concentration Ichigo had ever seen. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her weirder than usual behavior,"Are you okay? You look like you're in pain."

Ruby's face never even changed as she answered him,"There was something I was going to ask you…..something I'm trying to remember,"Ruby suddenly jumped up out of her seat,"OH!" She leaned in close to Ichigo with the cutest and most curious face possible,"Who are fuzzy and Karen?"

Ichigo was genuinely confused. His brain had to take a minute to translate the language of Ruby into english. Ichigo's eyes dampened a bit as the realization hit him,"You mean Yuzu and Karin."

Ruby seemed to miss Ichigo's change in mood and pressed her question further,"Yeah, that's it! You mumbled something about them the day after we met you while in the was right after you blew up that wall!" Ichigo didn't say anything for a few moments and it worried everyone at the table. Ruby halfheartedly asked again,"Who are they?"

Ichigo looked up into her big puppy dog eyes and felt his resolve crumble away. He let out a long sigh and looked back at the table,"Yuzu and Karin are, were, my two little sisters."

Blake's ears twitched under her bow and her eyes snapped up from the book she was reading, she was suddenly _very_ interested in this conversation,"You never told us you had siblings."

Ichigo rubbed his forehead, he looked very tired, as if someone had sucked all the life out of him,"Yeah, well, I tried not to think of them until now."

Ruby slowly sunk back down in her seat, realizing what she had done,"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Jaune didn't fully comprehend what was happening but tried to help anyway,"I know what having sisters is like, I have seven of them. Did you get in a fight or something?"

Ichigo was getting more depressed by the second and his appearance showed it,"No, we didn't fight. It's complicated, I just feel awful that they had to grow up without me, that is if they survived. Either way, I'm not happy about it."

All of team JNPR looked thoroughly confused until Blake spoke up,"Most people don't know this, but Ichigo is from five centuries back in time, a time before Remnant."

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren looked shocked and Nora literally locked up and fell out of her seat. Jaune shook his head and looked at Ichigo in wonder,"So you can travel through time?!"

Ichigo looked up at Jaune and deadpanned,"If I could, I wouldn't be here, the moon would be in one piece, and the creatures of grimm wouldn't exist."

Ren looked confused,"What does that mean?"

Ichigo picked up his apple and took another bite out of it, then looked back at his friends as if what he was about to say was completely casual,"Almost all of the problems your world faces now, were caused by me skipping 500 years."

Weiss spoke in a comforting tone,"Ichigo, that's just not true."

Ichigo turned to her and raised an eyebrow,"Oh yeah? Had I stayed in my time, I would've beaten Ulquiorra, gone on to defeat Aizen, Remnant wouldn't exist, Grimm would still be known as hollows and be nearly harmless to normal civilians, faunus would've never evolved and therefore the White Fang was never formed, dust wouldn't have been required under the protection of soul reapers so there wouldn't be an entire criminal organization revolving around it, because there is no dust, no criminals, and no monsters hunters and huntresses would've never been needed and children wouldn't have to put their life on the line to protect everyone else. If I had never skipped time, I would probably be sitting in a nice, cozy chair with my family and friends all around and a squad five captain's haori on my back right about now."

Ichigo's little speech had silenced everyone, Ruby looked like she was about to cry and Ichigo gave an empty smile as he shrugged,"But the past is in the past. Whatever happened, happened. I can't do anything to change that, but I can change what happens next. Besides, if I had never skipped forward I wouldn't have any of you here with me today. I think that's why I'm here now, to somehow pick up the pieces of Remnant and make things right again." Ichigo nodded, he truly meant every word and it put everyone's mind at ease.

Pyrrha smiled and cocked her head,"Noble aspirations, but how do you plan on doing any of that?"

"Damn if I know!" Ichigo laughed and everyone else at the table did too.

Ichigo tensed up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Ozpin standing behind him with a fresh mug of coffee,"I apologize if I frightened you, but you need to come with me."

Ichigo stood up out of his chair and stared at Ozpin suspiciously,"Where are we going."

"It's very obvious that you have gained a substantial amount of power; we need to gauge just how much progress you've made."

Ichigo thought about it for a moment and decided that Ozpin would probably find a way even if he said no,"Alright, lead the way."

"Very good. Follow me." Ozpin turned and walked calmly out of the cafeteria and across the grounds of beacon.

 **Later**

Ichigo walked into the hospital room and instantly knew something was wrong,"I feel like I've been here before."

Glynda appeared from the corner of the room, scaring the hell out of Ichigo,"This is the hospital room that you destroyed, and I fixed."

Ichigo calmed down and looked at the bed which still had a torn metal rail,"Yeah, I remember now. Why are we here?"

Ozpin walked over to the monitor on the far side of the room and pressed a few buttons,"Well, this aura meter already has you on file. I can use the last settings to find out how much you have grown."

Glynda opened the front of his shihakusho and placed a small, square patch over Ichigo's heart. The monitor made a long bar and it partially filled with purple colour, then the colour changed to green and extended farther outward.

Ozpin dropped his coffee as stared blankly at the monitor, Glynda's mouth fell open as she looked back and forth from the monitor to Ichigo. Ichigo was going to ask what was wrong when a small, black woman with fox ears walked into the room,"Ohhh boy, look at you! C'mere and give Connie a hug."

Ichigo looked down at the small lady wearing a nurse's uniform,"Who are you?"

She walked over to him with open arms, completely ignoring the sword he was holding, and wrapped him in a tight hug,"I was the nurse that brought you in. I just love seeing my patients back on they feet." She backed up and rubbed his hair,"Have you gotten taller?"

Ichigo was blushing just by how close the woman was, her 'assets' had been rubbing against his chest and he was fighting to keep his blood in his brain,"Uhh...Yes ma'am. Why…"

Ichigo was cut off when she started talking again,"Have you got yourself a girl yet? I saw all them pretty ladies eyein you when you was here." Ichigo's face lit up crimson and he tried to protest but she kept talking,"If I is you, I'd stay clear of that snow queen. She acts like the biggest prima you ever did see. The little red one was cute but she's a little young for you. That blonde was mighty pretty, but them faunus girls are pretty too, don't you think?" Ichigo tried to answer her question but all that came out of his mouth was nonsense and spittle. Connie looked past him at the monitor and clapped her hands together,"Ohhh boy, ohhh boy! Lookie here at this! You done scored yourself a seventy eight. You're well on your way to being a hunter! Why, I think that's a new record for a first year, and so soon into the semester! Why you just wait one minute boy, and I'ma be back in here with a lollipop for you." Connie walked out of the room humming happily to herself. Her antics had apparently snapped Ozpin and Glynda out of their daze.

Ozpin composed himself and looked at Ichigo,"That is all, you are free to go."

"But wait! What was wrong with my score?"

Ichigo never got an answer because Connie came back into the room and grabbed his hand,"I changed my mind, you're coming with me. We gonna go get that lolli together!" She dragged him out of the room with surprising strength and the door slammed shut as Ichigo tried to hold onto it.

Ozpin looked at Glynda with a worried look on his face,"A seventy eight. That's fifty points higher than me."

Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose,"Progressing past twenty was thought to be impossible."

"His score alone is not what I'm worried about; I watched him fight with everything he had three days ago and he couldn't hold a candle to Ulquiorra, now all of a sudden a feat like that is easy." Ozpin rubbed his face and adjusted the glasses on his nose,"No one but Ruby saw the second round between those two. We have no idea what he is capable of anymore."

Glynda pulled up Ruby's file on her scroll,"Do we question her for information?"

Ozpin shook his head,"No, not now. They all deserve some rest after what they've been through too much these past few days."

Glynda nodded in agreement,"Alright, rest it is."

 **Several hours later**

Ichigo was lying on his back on Yang's bed, his sword was across his stomach and he had one arm under his head. He held up the blade and the light glinted off of it.

'I guess I'm left handed now. It's probably not safe for me and Yang to sleep in the same bed anymore; I might roll over and cut her.'

Ichigo was snapped out of his thoughts when Ruby opened the door and all four girls came walking through. Yang hopped up onto the bed and layed down on top of Ichigo. She buried her head in his chest and mumbled,"So tired. Ruby being cooped up for five minutes is bad, three days is awful. She ran around every weapon and parts store in the city."

Ruby hid behind her pillow with a sheepish grin on her face,"You said anything I wanted. The only weapon in Las Noches was Murcielago."

Suddenly the air grew heavy and thick, Blake and Weiss fell to their knees and Ruby looked like someone had sucked all the life out of her. Ichigo flared out his energy in a protective casing around them. He pushed Yang off and jumped down from the bed as Weiss tried to stand, but she stumbled and fell into Ichigo's chest. He set her down on the bed next to Ruby and pulled Blake up from the floor. Ruby stood up and looked out the window,"I think it's Ulquiorra!"

Ichigo nodded,"It is, I can feel him without even trying."

Weiss looked at Ruby who was walking like there was nothing to it,"How are you doing that?"

Ruby shrugged,"Ulquiorra would do this when he wanted me to stop talking, you get used to it after the first few seconds."

Ichigo stepped up into the windowsill,"I don't know why he's here, but he's leaving!" Ichigo jumped down to the courtyard below and spotted the fourth Espada standing on the edge of Beacon's cliff. Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch came running out of the school and stood behind Ichigo.

Ozpin pushed up his glasses and narrowed his eyes,"Why would he be back now? He got his answer, you are stronger."

Ichigo shook his head,"No, he asked what would happen if I die again. I guess he hasn't given up." Ichigo turned to Ms. Goodwitch,"Keep the students back and out of the way this time, no one gets within a mile of me or him."

"Why is that?"

"Getting too close puts strain on the soul. It happened to Ruby when she was in my arms."

"Alright. I'll do it." Ichigo turned to walk away and Glynda grabbed his arm,"Be careful."

"I will."

Ichigo walked off toward the cliff leaving the pair alone. Ozpin looked to Glynda,"Here's the information we wanted."

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

"He'll be just fine." Coco tried to walk past Ozpin but he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder,"Sorry but you have to sit this one out." He pulled her back and nodded to Glynda who put up a purple force field.

Coco jerked out of Ozpin's grip,"I promised Ichigo we would fight with him!"

Ozpin looked down at her calmly,"I'm sure you meant it, but if you go out there now, you will die."

"Why are you always so dramatic?" Coco threw her hands in the air and walked back to her team. The crowd was rapidly growing, the signal Ulquiorra sent was felt by everyone.

Weiss came stumbling out of the building with no shoes on and leaning on Ruby. Yang and Blake walked out behind them and Yang leaned against the wall,"What's wrong Weiss, can't walk?"

"It's not my fault! It's that stupid demon bat over there!" Weiss pointed to where Ulquiorra stood in his second resurreccion.

Blake's ears twitched under her bow,"I hope Ichigo is gonna be alright."

 **On the cliff**

Ulquiorra stood still as a statue, his tail swishing in the breeze. Ichigo walked up calmly,"You know Ulquiorra, repeating actions and expecting different results is a sign of insanity. I should know," Ichigo put a finger to the side of his head,"I hear voices."

"I am far from insane, Kurosaki. A new variable has appeared," Ulquiorra held out his hand which held a small, purple rock,"I'm interested to see how it will affect the outcome."

Ichigo deadpanned,"You brought a rock to a swordfight."

Ulquiorra stared down at the object in his hands,"Aizen believed that the Hogyoku reacted with the desires of the holder and made them possible." Ulquiorra closed his hand and stared at Ichigo with his cold eyes,"My desire is to kill you."

Ichigo paled as he realized what Ulquiorra was holding,"Don't you realize that rock is regulating the flow of souls?!"

The fourth Espada remained stoic,"Yes, but the souls of humans are of no concern to me. They are trash."

"Then I guess I can't drag this out. Kill on instinct: **Del Toro!"** Ichigo was bathed in a white liquid and Ulquiorra inserted the Hogyoku into his hollow hole. There was a wave of half purple and green and half black and red energy and when it died down it revealed two monsters staring each other down. Ichigo had grown a pair of large horns and his shirt was gone, his skin was a stark white heavily contrasted by the black markings that crossed his chest and mask. Ulquiorra had grown a second pair of wings and the bottom pair was slightly smaller, his hair was no longer a black mane but as short as the day he became an arrancar. His mask had disappeared and his ears were long and bat like, his right eye was bright yellow and black and the other was green and purple. The hogyoku was sitting in the center of a large purple and green chestplate that seemed to glow with power. When Ulquiorra spoke, it was like he was talking in a cave, and his voice echoed back and forth, _"This is unexpected. With every person that dies, my power grows."_

" **I can't let you keep that rock!"** Ichigo charged Ulquiorra and tried to cut him in half with a downward slash. Ulquiorra raised his hand and caught Zangetsu like it was harmless. The Hogyoku glowed brighter as Ulquiorra raised a finger to fire a cero. Ichigo grabbed underneath Ulquiorra's arm and pulled up, breaking his arm at the elbow and firing the cero down into the ground. Ichigo jumped back to avoid the blast and Ulquiorra stood there as if it was nothing.

When the dust settled Ulquiorra snapped his arm back into place with a frown, _"It appears that I have lost my ability to regenerate. How unfortunate."_

" **Welcome to mortality, now die!"** Ichigo bent over and charged a cero between his horns. Before he could release it Ulquiorra appeared in a flash of static and grabbed Ichigo's horns, ripping them apart along with Ichigo's mask. Ichigo grabbed his face in pain and Ulquiorra kicked him, sending him flying and tumbling toward the building. Ichigo smashed right through Glynda's purple barrier and landed on his back at his team's feet.

Weiss picked him up and dusted him off,"Are you gonna be alright?!"

Ichigo shook his head rapidly and looked at Ulquiorra with hate,"That bastard just ripped my face off!"

" _You have shown me your power, Kurosaki. You have failed and you life is forfeit."_

Ichigo blinked and then laughed so hard he doubled over. Ulquiorra turned his head to the side," _Is something funny?"_

Ichigo caught his breath and stood up again,"It's just how stupid you are!" Ichigo laughed again and stopped when he smacked the side of his head,"Sorry about that, he gets talkative after an ass kicking."

" _So that was your inner hollow speaking, you really are out of power."_

Ichigo scratched his head,"No, you were wrong in assuming resurreccion was my trump card."

" _You have more power? I want to see it."_

Ichigo began walking away from the students and raised Zangetsu to the sky,"Let me show you my final getsuga tenshou." Ichigo lowered Zangetsu in front of him and put his hand on his sword arm. Waves of black energy cascaded out from his body and one of the massive pressures lifted, leaving only Ulquiorra's feeling of despair on the crowd. The waves dissipated in a violent explosion, breaking every window in beacon, and there stood Ichigo, if you could call him that. If Ichigo's resurreccion was intimidating, then this was fucking terrifying. His bright orange hair was gone, replaced by long, black hair that came down to his waist. His clothes were strips of cloth that covered his entire chest and mouth, his hakama were completely made of black reishi. Ichigo's left arm was bare except for a few black markings and his right arm was engulfed in a black getsuga. Ichigo's eyes were red and his whole form seemed to glow with a crimson aura.

Ulquiorra raised a finger toward Ichigo, _"I can no longer sense your energy, you have not become stronger."_

"You can't sense my energy because I don't have any. This technique allows me to become getsuga itself." Ichigo raised his arm toward the sky as Ulquiorra charged a green and purple cero,"Mugetsu." Ichigo dropped his arm and the getsuga on his arm shot out and came down on Ulquiorra like a black curtain, snuffing out the arrancar's cero and leaving a canyon in its wake, when the dust settled Ulquiorra stood with a shocked look on his face. The hogyoku's glow dimmed and the chestplate it was centered in splintered and cracked, the cracks extended out like spider webs over Ulquiorra's entire body.

The hollow looked down at his hands as they crumbled and blew away in the wind. He looked back into Ichigo's eyes,"Why are you so strong?"

Ichigo looked down in pity,"Because I have a heart."

Ulquiorra began to rapidly disintegrate and he put what was left of his hand over where his hole used to be,"I understand now. Thank you, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Then he was gone, nothing but a memory in the wind.

The cloth over his face cracked and fell away and his eyes returned to their normal color. Ichigo turned to walk back toward the school, but Ruby ran to him with her semblance and crushed him in a death hug,"You did it, Ichigo! You won. He can't hurt us anymore."

Ichigo set her back down on the ground and looked away,"No, there was no winner in that fight."

Ozpin walked up to him with a smirk on his face,"I'm very impressed at how much you've grown. You may be ready to carry your team into a mission."

The cloth kept breaking away and Ichigo shook his head,"Forget it. I don't have that power anymore."

Ozpin's eyes widened,"What? But how?"

Ichigo looked down at his half bare chest,"I'm gonna go get some clothes, maybe a nap." Ichigo turned around and the crowd of students split to let him pass. As he walked back into the building everyone was overcome with the intense grief coming off of him.

Something had died.

'Goodbye Zangetsu.'


	8. Season 2

**I have returned from the dead! Now. I was on break for a long time because I had some emotional stuffs to sort through, but thanks to my fellow author Nightmare Alchemist I decided to pick up the pen again. Go check out his new story Team LCKY. Now I have some new rules to avoid another chapter 5. Number one: Always plan ahead. Number two: Never pass up action for feels. Number three: Stop dropping hints about what's happening next. So without further ado, SEASON 2!**

* * *

The whole room was darkened except for the arena stage; two figures stood in the spotlight, staring each other down. The pair of combatants were none other than Ichigo Kurosaki and Cardin Winchester. Cardin's mace hung lazily over his shoulder,"You ready for another beating carrot-top?"

The vein on Ichigo's forehead ticked with annoyance,"I think you're confused Cardin." Ichigo charged at him and threw a punch right at his face,"You're getting the beating!"

The fist connected solidly with Cardin's jaw and it tilted his head back slightly. Cardin got a cocky look on his face and swung the mace off of his shoulders,"You know Kurosaki, that almost hurt." Cardin brought his mace up into Ichigo's chest with enough force for him feet to leave the ground, Ichigo's pained expression was punctuated by the sickening crack of his ribs. Ichigo staggered backwards and coughed up a mouthful of blood, he raised his head and glared at Cardin's shit eating grin,"You could forfeit now and avoid this, after all you're no good without that piece of junk you carried around all the time."

Ichigo visibly tensed at the mention of his zanpakuto, he rushed toward Cardin and hooked his leg behind Cardin's foot. With one shove Cardin was on the ground and Ichigo was on top of him, hammering his face over and over with a rain of punches,"HIS _WHAM_ NAME _WHAM_ IS _WHAM_ ZANGETSU!" Ichigo went to hit him again but Cardin caught his fist and smiled up at him as if they were best buds. Cardin swung his mace and hit Ichigo in the side of the head, sending him rolling across the floor. Ichigo's head was pounding and he looked up to see Cardin above him with his foot raised, ready to hit him again.

"Enough!" Cardin froze as the lights turned back on again, Ms. Goodwitch came walking out and looked at Cardin harshly,"The winner is Cardin Winchester, please take your seat."

"Whatever." Cardin turned to walk away but was stopped by something holding onto his leg.

He looked down to see Ichigo's face half covered in blood,"Don't listen to her, I'm still breathing aren't I?" Ichigo's eyes burned with rage, practically begging Cardin to hit him again. Cardin took the bait and raised him mace and right as he swung it down a purple bolt hit the side of Cardin's mace, knocking it out of his hands.

"I said that's enough. See me after class." Ichigo snickered and winced in pain, gaining the attention of Ms. Goodwitch,"And as for you, listen closely." Ms. Goodwitch paused to take a deep breath knowing how much this would hurt him,"No one wants to say this, but I feel you need to hear it. It's been weeks since you lost your powers and you have been attending Beacon at the request of the headmaster. You have exceptional physical capabilities by civilian standards but you are falling too far behind in class. You struggle to fight against trainees, and you haven't even been tested against a grimm. For your own safety, I think it's time you consider a new career."

Ichigo laid there on the ground for a second, processing everything she said. Then Ichigo slowly got to his feet and walked toward the steps.

The worry was evident in her voice,"Are you listening to me?"

Ichigo didn't even look back as he walked out of the classroom,"Get off my back and worry about yourself."

 **Later in the dorm of team RWBIY**

Ichigo was lying on Blake's bed, he had tried to jump up to Yang's bed but it was too painful for his cracked ribs. He sat thinking about what Ms. Goodwitch had said 'For your own safety, I think it's time you consider a new career.' Ichigo held out his hand grasping the air 'What would you have me do Zangetsu? You said you wanted to protect me, but I can't just lie down and die.' Ichigo's thoughts were interrupted by his team walking in through the door.

Blake sat down next to him,"Are you okay?"

Ichigo pulled up his shirt showing off the bruises underneath,"I got my ass kicked, wouldn't be the first time."

Blake raised her hands,"You know that's not what I mean. Are _you_ okay?"

"I don't know. I'm not giving up though." Ichigo sat up with a smile,"I'll always have you guys on my side!" Ichigo looked at the saddened faces of his team and none of them could look him in the eye,"Right?"

Ruby was the first one to speak up,"I don't wanna see you get hurt anymore, I think Ms. Goodwitch was right."

Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing,"What about the rest of you?" Yang just looked at her feet while Blake and Weiss slowly nodded. Ichigo looked down at the blood on his pants,"I'm going to the infirmary."

Ichigo swung his legs off the bed and his chest screamed in protest, whenever he had his hand on the door handle he heard Ruby's cheerful voice,"Look at the cute kitty!" Ichigo turned around to see a black cat sitting in the windowsill.

Yang went to pick it up and it jumped away onto the floor,"Hey! C'mere I wanna pet you."

Ichigo was getting creeped out as the cat dodged Yang and Ruby's attempts to catch it, it constantly had it's eyes locked on Ichigo. Something about those golden eyes seemed _familiar._ The two sisters finally stopped when the cat was too close to Ichigo, it rubbed against his leg sending little jolts of electricity up his leg. Ichigo's eyes widened and he jumped away, he looked at it completely shocked for a few moments until it spoke,"You always were awful at sensing spiritual pressure unless it was shoved right in your face."

"You abandoned us, Kurosaki." Ichigo turned around to come face to face with Soi-fon, or more accurately, Soi-fon's fist. The punch sent Ichigo flying across the room and into the wall.

Yoruichi padded up to where he layed on his side,"For the record, I told her not to do that." Ichigo completely ignored her and pulled the small cat into a hug. Yoruichi nuzzled against his chest,"I missed you too, Ichigo."

Ichigo stood up and held up the cat in his arms, rubbing his jaw,"I'd like to introduce you to Yoruichi and Soi-fon."

The room was silent for a moment before Blake spoke,"That cat can talk."

Yoruichi rolled her eyes,"Do you want to be the pot or the kettle?"

Blake was confused,"What?"

Yoruichi laughed,"Sorry, that was before your time, and I am not only a cat." Yoruichi glowed brightly and smoke enveloped her form, then when the smoke cleared Ichigo was holding a dark skinned woman with long purple hair. Ichigo's arms were pushing up her breasts.

Ichigo turned bright red and pushed her away,"Give me some warning before you do that!" Ichigo turned around to face the wall.

Yoruichi pressed herself against his back playfully,"Aww. Come on, don't tell me you're still a stiff after five centuries."

Ichigo tensed up and pushed her away without looking,"Put some clothes on!"

"Party pooper."

Yang who had been silent up until now looked over at her sister and whispered,"I think I like this woman."

Yoruichi walked over to the dresser in the corner of the room and began rummaging through it, she pulled out one of Weiss' dresses,"No, too small; and who wears this much white?" Weiss sunk down behind Yang to nurse her wounded pride and to avoid the silent woman in between the beds."This'll do just fine."

She grabbed one of Yang's outfits and began dressing herself when Soi-fon spoke up,"Yoruichi-sama let me help you!" She ran behind the woman and aided into squeezing her into the undersized top.

Yang's mouth fell open as the realization hit her,"That's impossible! There is no way her breasts are bigger than mine!" Ruby had to cover her mouth to contain the string of giggles that came out.

Ichigo rolled his eyes,"I tried to warn you."

"I thought you were joking!" Yang's face was decorated by two streams of chibi tears.

Yoruichi finally managed to button the pants and layed down next to Yang,"Don't worry about it. There's much more than breast size to a woman's charm. You can open your eyes now berry boy."

Ichigo turned around and let out a breath of relief, then Soi-fon grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him up off his feet,"Be glad Yoruichi-sama told me not to kill you."

Ichigo couldn't even look her in the eyes,"I already got my ass kicked once today, twice makes no difference."

Soi-fon looked deep into his eyes, noting the despair hidden in them. She let go of his shirt and his feet hit the ground with a thud,"You aren't even worth it."

Ichigo let out the breath he was holding and stared at the far wall,"Mind telling me why you hate me so much?"

Soi-fon clenched her fists and spat out the words she had been so long,"You abandoned us. When Aizen showed up you were nowhere to be found, and we were left to fend for ourselves."

Ichigo stared at the ground between his feet for a moment,"I read about what happened in Kisuke's book. I guess I wanted to assume you were gone."

Yoruichi tilted her head to the side,"What do you mean assume? Where were you when Aizen attacked?"

Ichigo let out a dry laugh but winced when he was reminded of the current state of his bones,"The question you should ask is 'when' was I when shit hit the fan."

Even Soi-fon cocked an eyebrow at this,"What do you mean?"

Ichigo sat up trying to take the weight off of his chest,"While I was still in Las Noches I fought the fourth espada, Ulquiorra. During our fight something happened, I was knocked into a garganta. When I woke up," Ichigo stopped his story to point at Yang,"She was kicking me in the face."

Yoruichi closed her eyes and thought for a moment,"It's surprising you survived that. If what you're saying is true that would explain why you haven't aged a day; however, that still doesn't explain why I can't sense your spiritual pressure."

Ichigo just looked away with distant,sad eyes, so Ruby pulled on Yoruichi's sleeve to get her attention,"Ichigo was in a fight and he kinda…" Ruby stopped not knowing what words to use,"Lost it."

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she looked over to Ichigo, and a gentle smile spread over her face. She got up and strode over to Ichigo, gently grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her,"You used _"It"_ didn't you?" Ichigo looked guilty and just nodded. "Ichigo, not many soul reapers get this chance. You can settle down, no more hollows, no more enemies, and no more pain. You can be normal again, no one will blame you."

Ichigo's brow furrowed and he pushed Yoruichi off of him. He quickly stood up and yelled,"Be normal! How in the HELL could I be normal!"

Yoruichi looked shocked and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper,"Ichigo, listen."

All it did was piss off Ichigo more, he couldn't hold back the tears anymore as he screamed,"No! You listen! My home, Karakura, is gone! My family is gone! My friends are gone! Zangetsu is gone!" Ichigo paused for a moment at his last words. His voice came out quiet and strained,"I tried to move on and make a new life here, but if I can't protect anyone; what good am I?"

Yoruichi just stood there completely at a loss for words. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and crush him in a hug but her body refused to move. Her voice was caught in her throat and her lips were paralyzed. When Ichigo didn't hear an answer her turned and practically ripped the door off its hinges tearing it open. The last thing he saw before he took off running was the curious faces of team JNPR poking out of their door.

* * *

Ichigo walked aimlessly across the grounds of Beacon. For a moment he considered going back to apologize but, ultimately decided against it. He didn't want to make himself into more of an ass than he already had. He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, only to be grabbed by the arm and drug away. Ichigo looked up to see Connie, the dark skinned nurse with attitude,"Do you have any idea how much you had me worried!" She didn't even bother to hear Ichigo's answer and instead chose to keep chewing him out,"Missus Goodwitch called me asking if you was alright and imagine my surprise when you hadn't even bothered to show up after getting hurt like you did."

Ichigo planted his feet and pulled his arm free,"I'm fine, Connie. Don't worry about me."

Connie put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot irritably,"Don't you lie to me boy, they's blood in your hair."

"I'm fine really." Ichigo put his hands up and tried to back away from the angry faunus.

She snatched his hand and kept walking,"I ain't gonna hear none of that, you's comin' with me."

Everyone gawked at the sight of Ichigo struggling to escape Connie's death grip as he was dragged toward the infirmary.

Connie finished wrapping up Ichigo's chest and stood back,"You's awful quiet today." Ichigo didn't respond so she kept going,"Soon as we got in here you shut up right quick, haven't said a word since." _Nothing._ 'So that's how it's gonna be.' "Ichigo believe it or not they keep me here for more than my looks, despite my drawl I'm actually pretty smart. I know when they's somethin buggin' you." She sat back in the chair behind her and patted her lap,"Com're."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow,"Really?"

Connie looked him dead in the eyes and spoke in her 'serious' voice,"Either you's comin' over here or I'm going over there." Ichigo got up and sat down gingerly on the woman's lap, still supporting most of his weight on his feet. "Boy I ain't made of glass." Ichigo relaxed and Connie pulled his head down on her shoulder,"Now tell me what's wrong."

Maybe it was the sweet aroma of her hair or the way she gently held him despite the fact he was too big, but something made Ichigo feel safe with Connie. "It's just everything that's happened. I've got nothing now and everyone, including my old teacher just want's me to give up, I don't want to live a normal life. I've never admitted it before but ever since I became a substitute I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else."

Connie smiled in the gentlest way and reached up to stroke the back of Ichigo's orange head,"Sounds like you've got a problem, and it's up to you to decide."

"That's just it. I've always had someone else telling me how to do this. All my decisions have been black and white, and I've had friends there for the hard stuff. I want to keep fighting but I don't know how to do it."

Connie gently shook him,"Now you listen to me. Those people tell you to stop because they love you and they don't want to see you hurting. What they don't see is that stopping goes against who you are, and that's gonna hurt you more than anything. So you go out there and dream a dream so big you ain't never gonna catch it. Cause when you reach for the moon and fall back down, I'ma be right here to patch you up and lift you a little higher."

Ichigo stopped for a moment to process all of her words and settled on a simple,"Thank you."

Connie bent down and kissed his forehead,"You's welcome." The emotional moment was ended when Connie pushed on his shoulder,"Now get offa me you got something hard in your pocket." Ichigo stood up and pulled out the offending object. His combat pass. "What'cha got there?"

Ichigo turned the piece of wood over in his hand,"A friend gave it to me." In that moment three things happened, Ichigo's mind brought forward an image of Ukitake handing him the combat pass for the first time, a small, almost unnoticeable flash of black energy sparked off of the pass, and for the first time in weeks Ichigo felt the one thing that had been eluding him for weeks: hope.

* * *

Pyrrha held open the door for her friends,"So he didn't come back last night?"

Yang looked at the ground and walked in,"Yeah, we're really worried."

Jaune put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye,"I'm sure he's fine."

Right as the door was about to swing shut everyone heard a voice cut through the murmurs of the classroom,"Hold the door!"

Pyrrha quickly opened it and in ran a dirty, sweaty Ichigo. He stopped to catch his breath with his hands on his knees when Yang yelled,"Where were you? We were worried sick!"

Ichigo stood up and smiled, which shocked everyone with the sincerity behind it,"Just training."

"Ahem! Please take your seats." Ms. Goodwitch looked over Ichigo quickly. His jacket was gone his pants were dirty and his white shirt had been stained grey with the sweat that had soaked into it,"Mr. Kurosaki just because you wear the uniform does not mean you meet the dress code. I will let it slide for now but I suggest you change before your next class."

Ichigo didn't even listen to her and instead walked up onto the arena floor,"How about a fight?"

Glynda was taken aback, out of all the smart remarks she was expecting she never thought of that,"What?"

Ichigo started stretching his arms and legs like he was warming up,"A fight. Give me someone good too."

Ms. Goodwitch pushed her glasses up and tried to find something different about him. 'He isn't any bigger. He isn't carrying a new sword. So where is this confidence coming from?!' "You better not be wasting my time. Jaune Arc come down here please."

Ichigo looked at her and tilted his head to the side,"Really?"

"Hey!"

Ichigo quickly corrected himself,"No offense, Jaune!" Ichigo closed his eyes and thought for a moment,"Lets see. _Hmmm._ I got it! Hey Coco!"

The brown haired girl slid her glasses down and looked at him,"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna repay that favor you owe me?"

Coco thought about it for a minute before nodding,"Sure, why not."

Ichigo waved them down,"Good, bring your friends too."

Coco stopped walking and first looked at Ichigo's happy face and then at her friend's expectant ones. 'Ahh fuck it.' "You heard the man. You guys are coming too." As Coco passed Ichigo she winked at him and said,"Give me some time to slip into something more comfortable."

Ichigo deadpanned,"You're just going to get that big ass minigun."

Coco laughed,"You know me so well."

As team CFVY walked out Glynda scolded Ichigo in a hushed voice,"Are you insane?! Yesterday Cardin beat the crap out of you and now you want to fight one of the highest ranking second year teams here, while injured at that! Are you suicidal?"

Ichigo just smiled and laughed,"Aww, you do care."

Glynda's forehead ticked in anger and she threw her hands up in defeat,"Whatever. I don't care anymore." She stormed off right as the locker room door opened and out walked the massive form of Yatsuhashi carrying his giant sword on his back, it looked all too familiar to Ichigo. Following close behind was the less intimidating form of Fox and Coco and ended by the least intimidating Velvet, her face was troubled like she was thinking very hard about something.

As the team stepped up into the arena Coco gave one last look at Ichigo over her glasses,"You sure you want to do this?"

Ichigo reached into his pocket and pulled out his combat pass and suddenly it exploded into four black extensions almost forming a circle on the outer edge. The giant screen above the arena suddenly came to life with a picture of Ichigo and a green bar next to him face. Glynda suppressed the gasp that threatened to escape her lips and looked back to Ichigo as he said,"Ready as I'll ever be."

Coco scoffed and pushed up her shades,"Get him."

Fox and Velvet sprinted towards him and Velvet jumped off of Fox's shoulder and right behind Ichigo. When Fox went for a left jab, Ichigo raised his pass and turned it to make him miss. Then Velvet's foot came spinning toward his face, so he ducked and pulled Fox forward just far enough to catch Velvet's foot with his face. As he went flying in the other direction she yelled after him,"I'm sorry!"

But while she was distracted Ichigo threw a punch right at her face that she barely dodged in time. As Ichigo was regaining his balance he noticed the massive shadow on the ground below him, so he spun around to see Yatsuhashi in the air, sword raised above his head. Ichigo flung his arm around and the black energy on his pass flew outward. Yatsuhashi barely pulled his sword down in time to block the attack and when it collided with the energy attack, the large man flew backwards onto his butt. Coco walked up behind her team and helped Yatsuhashi off the ground,"He really isn't playing around." This time all four of them sprinted forward, but to Ichigo it didn't matter how many there were. His deranged smile was evidence of how much he had missed this. His heart felt like it would explode either from happiness or dodging purses at any moment. He was so happy he barely noticed something within the combat pass seemed to wake up. The resulting energy surge spread the black aura up his arm and got the attention of Ichigo. When he looked down he noticed that his forearm seemed to be wrapped in black flames and the pass now had six protrusions rather than four; however, this second of distraction gave Velvet the chance to land on his chest and flip backwards, catching his jaw with the top of her foot.

The pain just reminded Ichigo of how to multitask in battle, so he focused on the pass and tried to feel what was happening. The energy coming out of the pass was definitely that of a hollow, but at the same time it was groggy, like it hadn't fully woken up yet. So Ichigo decided to push forward and drag it out into himself. No one expected the explosive results. The fire that concealed his arm had engulfed his entire body and taken the form of a gi. The shockwave pushed back the awestruck opponents and Glynda quickly attached a photo of Ichigo to a text to Ozpin that read _My room. NOW!_

Ichigo took a step forward and rocketed forward towards Yatsuhashi. As he lashed out at the larger man the flames around him seemed to get hot as if it was trying to suffocate him. Yatsuhashi looked up in fear and quickly jumped away, Ichigo looked for what had scared him and saw Coco with her minigun aimed right at him.

The hail of bullets bounced off of him like pebbles, Ichigo was more concerned by the now malicious presence trying to kill him. Ichigo reached down again and took hold of the mysterious power, if this this wanted to take him over then Ichigo wasn't going down without a fight. With only willpower he forced it into submission and his own soul seemed to explode with power. The flames disappeared revealing white, bone like armor that covered his entire body. The circular weapon was now replaced by a shortsword sprouting out of the pass itself, on the other end was a simple handle. Ichigo's aura spiked causing the large screen to explode in a shower of sparks that cascaded down around his body, creating a brilliant contrast to the dim lights of the arena. Ichigo's arm slowly rose and the blade was coated in black flames.

"I think that's enough for today. You have some explaining to do." The lights flicked on and Ichigo turned to see Ozpin standing in the doorway.

"Alright." Ichigo suppressed the hollow and the white armor receded back into the combat pass. As Ichigo walked out of the arena toward Ozpin he saw Ruby cheering out of the corner of his eye, the entire class followed suit when Ms. Goodwitch yelled "Class Dismissed!" and ran after Ichigo.

But none of that really mattered. Ichigo was back.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading, I considered making a few intermission chapters, but things were getting sad enough. As always leave a review if you feel like it and go give Nightmare Alchemist some attention too. "You thought I forgot." Bye.**


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